‘Shake It Off’ copyright lawsuit dropped, clearing path for Taylor Swift to finish re-recordings
Taylor Swift has shaken off a copyright lawsuit alleging that she copied lyrics in her lead single from her “1989” album, paving the way for her to finish re-recording her first six studio albums.
Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who wrote the 2001 song “Playas Gon’ Play” by the group 3LW, originally filed the complaint against Swift in 2017. They alleged that Swift copied the lyrics in her 2014 song “Shake It Off,” which spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Billboard reported.
U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald on Monday signed the order to dismiss the suit, “pursuant to the parties’ Stipulation,” according to a new court filing Monday. It’s unclear whether a settlement was reached between the Swift, Hall and Butler.
Swift was denied a request to dismiss the lawsuit in December 2021, after her attorney argued that the two songs utilized the same public domain phrases — “players gonna play” and “haters gonna hate.”
In August, Swift wrote in a declaration to the court that she had never heard the 3LW song as a child and insisted she wrote the lyrics to “Shake It Off” herself.
“I recall hearing phrases about players play and haters hate stated together by other children while attending school in Wyomissing Hills, and in high school in Hendersonville,” Swift wrote in the August filing. “These phrases were akin to other commonly used sayings like ‘don’t hate the playa, hate the game,’ ‘take a chill pill,’ and ‘say it, don’t spray it.’”
Many fans have speculated whether the lawsuit has delayed Swift’s ability to re-record her Grammy-winning “1989” album, which marked her official transition out of country and into pop music. The dismissal likely paves the way for Swift to release the “Taylor’s Version” of the album before embarking on her 2023 tour.
Swift announced her decision to re-record her first six studio albums in 2019, after her back catalog was sold to Scooter Braun by her former record label. She has already released “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version),” both of which debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Though Swift has not released a “1989 (Taylor’s Version), she has released a few songs from the anticipated album, including “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” and “This Love (Taylor’s Version).”
Fans expect to hear Swift’s older hits during next year’s “Eras Tour,” though it’s unclear whether her re-recordings will be finished before she takes the stage in March. In addition to “1989,” Swift is still expected to release new versions of her albums “Speak Now,” “reputation,” and her self-titled debut “Taylor Swift.”
This story previously appeared on NBCNews.com.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
