A lawsuit against Beyoncé and Sony Music over samples that appeared on her chart-topping hit 'Break My Soul' has been dismissed, less than three months after the case was filed.
The voluntary dismissal will end an unusual case in which members of Da Showstoppaz, a little-known New Orleans group, claimed that Beyoncé had used their music without permission on “Break My Soul” — even though she legally cleared the actual song he had tried.
The court filings contained no mention of any kind of settlement agreement, and the case could have been dismissed unilaterally. Neither side immediately returned requests for comment on the case's withdrawal.
In their May lawsuit, the members of Da Showstoppaz accused Beyoncé (Beyoncé Knowles Carter) of infringing their 2002 song “Release A Wiggle” in “Break My Soul,” a smash hit that spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022.
Instead of claiming that Beyonce stole their material outright, the group said that the superstar actually had legally sample New Orleans rapper Big Freedia's 2014 song “Explode.” But that track, they claimed, had illegally borrowed several key lyrics from their song.
At the center of these claims was the phrase “release yo wiggle” and several related variations, which Da Showstoppaz call “unique phrases” they coined in their song. They say Big Freedia — a well-known rapper in the New Orleans music scene — infringed their copyright by using similar phrases on “Explode.”
As Advertising sign reported at the time, such claims would face strong odds in court. Copyright law doesn't usually protect short, simple phrases, and a court could have possibly dismissed the case on the grounds that Big Freedia was free to use such lyrics even if The Showstoppaz used them first.
“Explode” was one of several high-profile samples on “Break My Soul”, which also drew heavily from Robin S's house song “Show Me Love”. After the song's release, Big Freedia thanked “Queen Beyoncé” and said she was “honored to be a part of this special moment.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/beyonce-lawsuit-break-my-soul-sample-dropped-accusers/
