Katy Perry has lost her copyright trial over her song “Dark Horse.” Katy and Dr. Luke were sued by Christian rapper Flame, a.k.a. Marcus Gray, who claimed their song was a rip-off of his tune “Joyful Noise,” and now a court has agreed.
Perry and all the parties involved insisted during the trial they never heard “Joyful Noise” before writing their song. Gray argued that the beat and instrumental line featured in the majority of “Dark Horse” sounded the same as what is in his song.
The trial will now head into the penalty phase, with the jury to decide how much Katy, the song’s co-authors and her producer Dr. Luke owe over the copyright infringement.
Now that filming is underway on the next James Bond film, talk has once again turned to who’ll record the customary theme song for the 007 flick, and the film’s star Daniel Craig definitely has some thoughts.
A report in “The Mirror” claims Craig wants Ed Sheeran to record the theme song for the film, currently known as "Bond 25,” and apparently his opinion may hold some weight.
"Daniel was introduced to Ed’s music by his daughter Ella," a source tells the paper "She loves Ed, and Daniel now really likes his stuff too and wants Ed for the theme tune.” The insider adds, “Daniel is not just the lead actor on the movie but also one of the producers, so he has huge sway over every aspect."
Although they still won’t confirm that they’re dating, Shawn Mendes and CamilaCabello continue to spark speculation that something romantic’s going on. The latest reason to believe they are more then friends happened this weekend when some fans saw them getting cozy in Tampa, where Shawn had a show Saturday night.
Video of the two stars show them walking hand-in-hand at a hotel, and then they were also spotted at the popular Tampa coffee house Oxford exchange. There’s even video of them kissing, although it’s so short it’s hard to tell if it’s really them.
A group of artists are banding together to help other artists. The new Music Artists Coalition (MAC) will be made up of such famous musicians as Don Henley, Dave Matthews, Maren Morris, Anderson.Paak, Meghan Trainor, Shane Mcanally and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White, along with several industry vets, with the aim to advocate for and protect the rights of all artists.
“Artists decide their musical fate every time they write a song or step on stage. Their true fate -- the ability to protect their music -- is being decided by others … bureaucrats, government legislators, and the powerful digital gatekeepers,” Henley tells “Billboard.” “We are forming the Music Artists Coalition to ensure that there is an organization whose sole mission is to protect the rights of music artists -- performers and songwriters.”
MAC hopes to educate creators on a variety of issues, particularly when it comes to compensation in the digital music landscape. The plan is to lobby for artists on national efforts, as well as have a voice in various state legislation and policies that impact artists.
John Legend getting Freedom Award:John Legend has been chosen as one of this year’s Freedom Award recipients by the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Legend will receive the honor on October 30th at the Orpheum theater, along with Gloria Steinem and human rights activist Hafsat Nabiola.