Beyoncé Dragged to Court Over Alleged Unauthorized Sample

Beyoncé is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit from Hirose Enterprise over an alleged unauthorized sample in her song 'Alien Superstar'. The plaintiffs claim the license obtained for the sample was invalid because the original performer had already transferred his rights.
Why it matters
The case highlights the complexities of music copyright and the importance of chain-of-title documentation in sample clearance.
Beyoncé is being dragged to court over an alleged unauthorized sample on her hit "Alien Superstar," TMZ has learned.
According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, a company called Hirose Enterprise and a producer named Shuji Hirose are suing Beyoncé and various music companies for alleged copyright infringement.
Hirose says it owns the rights to a song titled "Moonraker," performed by a musician named John Holiday. The company says Beyoncé sampled the “spoken-word introduction” of the song "Alien Superstar," which was released on her 2022 album "Renaissance."
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in