Singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman has launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against Nicki Minaj for using a sample of her track "Baby Can I Hold You" for her song "Sorry," featuring her ex-rumored boo Nas.
According to reports, Nicki's team reached out to Chapman in June 2018, requesting the license to use "Baby Can I Hold You" on her QUEEN album. However, Chapman repeatedly denied Nicki's requests.You'll recall, Nicki hopped on Twitter pondering if she should delay her album (for the third time) due to the sample clearance.
Fast forward to August 2018 and the "Sorry" track gets leaked a day after the QUEEN album was released to the masses. So, how did it get out? "Someone" sent the track to HOT 97's Funkmaster Flex and he played it on the radio, which eventually made its way online. It was also played during Power 105's radio morning show, "The Breakfast Club."
While "Sorry" never appeared on the QUEEN album, Chapman claims the damage had already been done. In the lawsuit, Chapman alleges that the song swiped lyrics and vocal melody from her original classic. Chapman is SUING for an order that was violated that prohibited Nicki from releasing the song. An unspecified amount of money is being requested for damages.
Pitchfork explains how Tracy could possibly win her lawsuit against the Head Barb:
Due to the confusing way that copyright law works, Minaj could end up having to pay money even if she never made “Sorry” available for sale. “Calculating damages might be trickier without sales and streaming performance to reference,” says Mattias Eng, whose firm represented Robin Thicke and Pharrell in the infamous “Blurred Lines” copyright case. But infringement also carries the risk of what are known as statutory damages, where the amount is defined by law rather than based on any actual harm caused. If a court finds that Minaj infringed on Chapman’s copyright intentionally, she might have to pay statutory damages of up to $150,000.Repeating identical lyrics puts Minaj on shakier ground, legally speaking, than simply borrowing a feeling or groove. “It’s a strong case for Tracy Chapman, because it’s a wholesale lift of the lyric as the centerpiece of Minaj’s track,” says Bill Hochberg, who works with the Bob Marley estate.The lawsuit also quotes one of Minaj’s own representatives as allegedly admitting that she “used interpolations of” Chapman’s song in the track. “The paper trail eliminates any reasoned argument as to intent, subconscious copying, or perceived consent,” says James Sammataro, who sued Universal Music Group on behalf of Enrique Iglesias this year over streaming royalties. “The only open question,” he says, is whether “Sorry” copies so much of “Baby Can I Hold You” that Minaj can’t claim “fair use” as a deference—essentially that her use of the track serves a “transformative” purpose.Nicki’s tweets also might be a problem for her, if the case ever goes to trial. In particular, Sammataro and Hochberg both point out that Minaj’s tweet that “Sis said no”—an apparent admission that Chapman rejected her request for permission—could go over poorly with a jury.From a larger copyright perspective, Sammataro notes, the case “perfectly frames the debate” over whether the law is working as intended. On one hand, Chapman has the right to control who uses her work, and how, for the length of her copyright term. “However, in exercising her right to protect her work, Chapman can preclude other artists from building upon her original expression, thereby stifling creativity and slowing the evolution of music,” Sammataro says. “After all, almost all new music builds on the old.”
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