TRACY CHAPMAN, vs. ONIKA TANYA MARAJ {Copyright Infringement}
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Wow Nicki cannot seem to catch a break. From Remy and Miley to Cardi B, Nicki has now found herself in another unfortunate situation with Grammy Award-winning artist, Tracy Chapman.
On October 22nd, a formal complaint was filed to the United States District Court For the Central District of California, stating that Nicki Minaj had infringed on the Copyright of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 classic song, “Baby Can I Hold You”. The news quickly traveled from station to station, garnering attention from fans and gossip outlets alike.
This article will hopefully bring to light some of the moving parts of the case.
The Parties Involved :
Defendant: Onika Tanya Maraj (Nicki Minaj): Nicki Minaj is still on the scene since we were formally introduced to her in 2007, with her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over, through Dirty Money Records. (wiki) She has garnered a lot of success since then and continues to do so with chart-topping albums, rap battles, and some celebrity beef along the way. She is the defendant and the one being sued.
Plaintiff : Tracy Chapman: Tracy is a Grammy award winning artist known for her hits "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason", along with other singles "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Crossroads", "New Beginning", and "Telling Stories" (Wiki) . She lives a pretty low-key life, but still is very known and recognized within the entertainment industry for her music and her legacy. She is the plaintiff and the one who is suing.
The Formal Complaint:
The media has been summarizing the facts of the case, but I like to do my own research. I’ve found the formal complaint and have attached it here! Read at your leisure.
In case you do not want to read the complaint, here is a summary.
Essentially Nicki is being accused of copying the lyrics and melody of Chapman’s song. In fact, Nicki had asked multiple times, publically, for consent to sample the song on her August album, but after multiple rejections from Chapman, chose not to include it. Although the song didn’t make it on the album, she sent the track to Producer Funkmaster Flex who mixed it for Nas, featuring Nicki). As expected, Chapman retaliated with a formal complaint.
Public Tweet of Nicki asking (once again) for Chapman’s permission t use her sample on the album.
Nicki tweeted afterwards; “Sis Said No”, answering the earlier permission request. (Couldn’t find the tweet!!)
Evidence from complaint (Exhibit 1):
Compare the two songs for yourself.
What Now? Who Will Win?
The elements to look for with copyright infringement are “excess and substantial similarity,” to the compared; and Chapman’s lawyers believe that “sorry” has this similarity. Now, Chapman is pursuing monetary compensation and Nicki’s attorneys will have to analyze to see if it is enough to accuse of infringement or if they could potentially argue their way to “fair use”. According to copyright laws, infringement also carries the risk of what is known as “statutory damages”, where the amount is defined by law rather than based on any actual harm caused. Therefore, if Minaj is found to have infringed on this copyright, she’ll have to pay an upwards of $150, 000 in damages.
According to an article written by Pitchfork, Tracy Chapman has a strong case and may win because there is allegedly evidence to suggest that Nicki purposefully infringed, using tweets as evidence. However, it's interesting because there is also speculation that the song was never released officially for profit. Nicki Minaj maybe off the hook since she did not promote or profit off of the song (ALLEGEDLY).
I’m skeptical though because why did Nicki think it was ok to send the sample to Funkmaster Flex even after Chapman denied her request..? Did nobody double check permissive use to make sure he could use it for Nas? Regardless, “Sorry”, has been stripped from pretty much every licensed service on the internet.
Wow Wow Wow.
I enjoy reading the conversations and theories that arise from copyright allegations because it’s interesting to read about the mixed thoughts surrounding the “free market of ideas” in the entertainment industry! Those who create have the right to control how their creation should be utilized. Some argue that in an effort to protect their work, artists will cease other artists from building off of their work, which would inevitably stifle future creativity and slow down the evolution of music.
On the other hand, as someone who wants to protect an artist’s work and assets one day, I now understand the sentiments of Prince’s response to the shortcomings of the industry. According to him, “when a song is covered, it loses its originality.” Therefore, building upon another song would inhibit the creativity of future musicians. Instead of creating new and revolutionary music, artists will eventually become lazy and unoriginal, simply regurgitating the commonplace.
We must agree, however, that there is a difference between totally “copying” someone's work and simply transforming it to another level in the name of “Fair Use”.
If artists created purely original work, then copyright wouldn’t be an issue, right? But, wouldn’t that be hard as almost all of humankind has built off the idea of others. Microsoft to Apple…. as an example. How does one keep track of all the millions, billions of songs that are made each day?
What are your thoughts?
Listen to the songs for yourself and share your ideas below! , “Sorry” has been pretty much stripped from Youtube, so it has been sped up to avoid being pulled...
