LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – On Monday, July 29, 2019 a jury of nine unanimously ruled that Katy Perry, as well as six of her writers, are guilty of infringement of copyright. The case was only one week long, and after listening to both, we are sure you’ll see why it was a short lived case.
In 2008, Christian rap artist, Marcus Grey (AKA, Flame), produced “Joyful Noise.” The music video has over 3 million hits on YouTube, and was nominated for a grammy. His argument was that Katy Perry used, at least in part, the underlaying beat from his track. He filed in 2014 upon realizing the plagiarism.
Perry’s attorneys argued that the beat was too common and brief to be protected by copyright. Perry and Dr. Luke, one of the six writers, testified that they had never heard the song or the beat prior to writing their 2013 hit. Flame successfully argued that his song was popular and widely available streaming applications to the public meaning that any one of the writers easily could have heard his song.
Penalties for using the beat without permission are currently being discussed in court. “Dark Horse” is one of Perry’s biggest hits, and one which “broke the glass ceiling” as her video quickly became the first by a female artist to reach over a billions views on YouTube. “Joyful Noise,” in comparison, currently has just over 3 million views.
Check out this mashup of the two songs side by side, and see if you agree with the verdict.
