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Beyoncé Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘Break My Soul’ Sample Dropped by Accusers

A Beyoncé lawsuit over a "Break My Soul" sample was dropped by her accusers just months after it 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 in “Break My Soul” — even though she legally cleared the actual song she had sampled. Rather than alleging that Beyonce stole their material directly, the group said that the superstar had actually legally sampled the 2014 song “Explode” by the New Orleans rapper Big Freedia. Copyright law typically does not protect short, simple phrases, and a court could have potentially dismissed the case on the grounds that Big Freedia was free to use such lyrics even if The Showstoppaz used them first.

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