According to reports, Tracy Chapman has accepted Nicki Minaj's offer of 450K to settle their copyright dispute out of court. This lawsuit was over Nicki Minaj's song "Sorry" featuring Nas. Nicki Minaj had planned to have the song on her 2018 album Queen; however, she later realized that the song sampled Chapman's "Baby Can I Hold You." Even though Chapman is on the "Do Not Sample" list, Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to ask for help in contacting Chapman. Can we agree that backfired?
Chapman rejected Nicki Minaj's request, and it never appeared on Nicki's Queen album. However, the song was leaked on Funk Flex's show. Nicki Minaj was accused of being the source of the leak.
This settlement allows Nicki to avoid having to go to trial.
In Sept. 2019, Nicki Minaj did get a victory when the judge ruled that she did not commit copyright infringement by writing and recording the song. This was a huge win for the culture, considering how much sampling is apart of Hip Hop. But, Nicki always had an uphill battle when it came to defending she was not behind the leak to Funk Flex.
The lesson for artists is to make sure you get your songs totally cleared and pay attention to "Do Not Sample" lists.
Thoughts?
UPDATE: 1/8 10:02 AM PST
According to reports, the 450K includes attorney fees, etc.
UPDATE: 1/8 10:27 AM PST
Just to clarify what the settlement is over. It's about using a songwriter's work without permission and leaking it.
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