Beyoncé’s ‘Break My Soul’ Copyright Lawsuit Dismissed
Less than three months after it was filed, a copyright infringement lawsuit against Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Sony Music, and Big Freedia has been dismissed with prejudice. The dismissal was confirmed in a newly filed notice of voluntary dismissal from the plaintiffs’ attorney.
The plaintiffs, a New Orleans-based group called Da Showstoppaz, did not disclose the reasons behind their sudden withdrawal. The group alleged that Beyoncé used their music without permission, despite having legally cleared the sample in question. Court documents did not mention any settlement, suggesting that the case was dropped independently. Neither party has commented on the reasons for the case’s withdrawal.
In May, Sony Music, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Big Freedia were hit with the lawsuit. Several reports said that they were being sued by the former New Orleans-based group alleging copyright infringement involving the phrase “release a wiggle” in the song Break My Soul.
USA Today reported that the federal copyright lawsuit, filed May 22 in the Eastern District of Louisiana, the bounce group that once performed as “Da Showstoppaz” accused Big Freedia of “illegally” using the three-word phrase in her 2014 song Explode.
They said in the suit, that four members of the group Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs, and Brian Clark, allege Big Freedia took the phrase from the 2002 single “Release A Wiggle” produced by them. The song was featured on a mixtape sold by BlackHouse Entertainment.
Many fans know that Beyoncé sampled Big Freedia’s song Explode on her smash hit Break My Soul, from her 2022 seventh studio album Renaissance. Beyoncé’s name was added to the lawsuit along with other writers and producers credited on the album, including Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z. Additionally, companies affiliated with the release of both songs were also named as defendants.
Music Business Worldwide reported that the suit claimed, “Da Showstoppaz have a copyright to their unique and distinctive lyrics and musical composition, ‘Release A Wiggle.’ Big Freedia had access to ‘Release A Wiggle,’ which was subsequently sampled by ‘Break My Soul’ by Beyoncé. Therefore, by copying ‘Release A Wiggle’ in ‘Explode,’ Big Freedia infringed on Da Showstoppaz’s copyrights.”
The group asked to be credited on both “Explode” and “Break My Soul” and to receive royalties for future uses of both songs and “damages in relation to profits” Big Freedia and Beyoncé made for the songs, as well as the singer’s corresponding tour and film, Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce.
