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Beyoncé Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘Break My Soul’ Sample

Beyoncé was hit with a lawsuit over a "Break My Soul" song sample. A New Orleans group says the Big Freedia sample features infringing lyrics.

Beyoncé, Sony Music and others are facing a copyright lawsuit over her chart-topping hit “Break My Soul,” filed by a New Orleans group that says she sampled from a Big Easy rapper who had illegally lifted lyrics from their earlier song. Rather than stealing their material directly, the group alleges that Beyoncé infringed their copyrights by legally sampling the 2014 song “Explode” by the New Orleans rapper Big Freedia. Copyright law typically does not protect short, simple phrases, and a court could potentially dismiss 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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