Nicki Minaj Pays Tracy Chapman $450,000 in Copyright Dispute
For months, the leisure enterprise’s licensed calendar had an intriguing merchandise on the horizon: a copyright trial pitting Tracy Chapman, the revered and reclusive singer-songwriter, in the route of the firebrand rapper Nicki Minaj.
But that trial is to not be. Late remaining month, the occasions agreed to a judgment of copyright infringement in the route of Minaj, and a price of $450,000 to Chapman, in accordance with paperwork made public on Thursday in federal courtroom in California, the place the case was being adjudicated.
Chapman sued Minaj for copyright infringement in late 2018 over a music usually usually usually usually usually usually usually moreover usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually furthermore usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually moreover usually usually usually furthermore usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually usually typically typically normally often known as “Sorry,” which borrowed rigorously from Chapman’s “Baby Can I Hold You,” launched in 1988. 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Chapman accused Minaj of using “Baby Can I Hold You” with out permission, which she talked about Minaj had requested for nonetheless was denied. Yet Minaj argued that her creation of “Sorry,” even with out a license from Chapman, was protected by the doctrine of “fair use” — an exception to copyright licensed concepts that lets creators borrow copyrighted presents beneath constructive circumstances.
Their dispute raised thorny questions for musicians and the companies behind them: Can artists be held answerable for copyright infringement for works in progress? Do artists need permission even to experiment in the studio?
In September, Judge Virginia A. Phillips, of United States District Court in Los Angeles, sided with Minaj on the question of fair use. In a summary judgment decision, Judge Phillips wrote that “uprooting” the common practice of letting artists experiment privately “would limit creativity and stifle innovation within the music industry.”
But the judge allowed the case to go to trial over the question of how the song made its way to Funkmaster Flex. Chapman’s side alleged that Minaj had leaked it, and pointed to substantial correspondence between the two. Minaj said she did not send the track, and Funkmaster Flex said that he had gotten it “from one of his bloggers,” according to the judge’s ruling.
If Minaj had leaked the song herself, or authorized its release through intermediaries, she may have been liable for significant penalties. Court papers show that Minaj’s lawyers made their offer of $450,000, “inclusive of all costs and attorney fees incurred to date,” on Dec. 17, and that Chapman’s team accepted it on Dec. 30.
In a statement on Friday, Chapman said she was pleased with the outcome, “which affirms that artists’ rights are protected by law and should be respected by other artists.”
“As a songwriter and an independent publisher I have been known to be protective of my work,” Chapman added. “I have never authorized the use of my songs for samples or requested a sample. This lawsuit was a last resort.”
When asked for comment about the conclusion of the case, a lawyer for Minaj, Peter W. Ross, said simply: “We settled for one reason only. It would have cost us more to go to trial.”
