Taylor Swift, the American pop singer, has spoken out about the copyright lawsuit filed against her for her 2014 song Shake It Off. The singer has been accused of plagiarizing the 2001 single Playas Gon’ Play by American pop duo 3LW. 3LW composers Sean Hall and Nathan Butler filed a lawsuit in 2017. The lawsuit was first withdrawn in 2018, but was later reinstated by an appeals court. Taylor Swift has now come to the defense of the case, pointing out that she wrote the song.
Billboard quoted the artist’s statement, citing papers from the movement:
“The words to ‘Shake It Off’ were entirely composed by me.”
Taylor Swift revealed more about how the song came about:
“In creating the lyrics, I drew on my own experiences, especially the constant public scrutiny of my personal life, clickbait reporting, public manipulation, and other types of unpleasant personal criticism that I found I just needed to put aside and concentrate on my music, music.”
Taylor Swift claims she never heard the song “Players Gonna Play” before the allegations.
Taylor Swift denied any copyright infringement in a federal court filing filed Aug. 8. Swift claimed that she could not have copied the 3LW song since she “never heard the song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ and never heard of the song or the group 3LW.” She also stated:
“I heard the music for the first time after this claim was made.”
Swift also said that “players gonna play” and “haters gonna hate” were common aphorisms in her youth. According to the singer:
“I remember hearing other youth use terms like players play and haters hate when I was in school in Wyomissing Hills and high school in Hendersonville.”
Swift also identified other examples of the phrase “players that will play,” which appeared in several songs, movies, and other works. She also recalled a 2013 performance where she wore a T-shirt with the words “haters gonna hate”.
Swift’s attorney, Peter Anderson, issued the following statement:
“Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for a popular song to face plaintiffs seeking windfalls based on flimsy allegations that their own music is pirated… Even with that background, [the] The plaintiff’s claim stands out as extremely weak.”
Taylor Swift’s 2014 album Shake It Off
Swift’s fifth studio album, 1989, included the first track, Shake It Off. In August 2014, the song was released. Playas Gon’ Play was released in 2001 as part of 3LW’s self-titled first album. They dismissed the lawsuit in 2018, but an appeals court reinstated it the following year. In December 2021, the judge ruled that the matter should be decided by a jury, while an official trial date has not been set.
Several copyright lawsuits have already been filed against the musician. Ed Sheeran won a copyright lawsuit against his song Shape of You earlier this year. And Katy Perry won a case against her because of the song “Dark Horse”.
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education