Nicki Minaj has resolved a copyright infringement case to avoid going to trial.
The 38-year-old rapper is expected to pay singer and songwriter Tracy Chapman, $ 450,000 for illegally using her 1988 song “Baby Can I Hold You” on her 2018 track “Sorry”.
Minaj also agreed to pay Chapman’s legal fees. The offer was accepted on Thursday by Page Six.
Chapman filed the lawsuit in October 2018 after “Sorry” leaked to DJ Funkmaster Flex and went viral online. The song was not part of Minaj’s “Queen” album.
NICKI MINAJ REACHES TRACY CHAPMAN COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION LEGISLATION
The 56-year-old singer said Minaj had asked for permission to use her music and Chapman did not agree to the terms. So Minaj supposedly went ahead and used part of the song anyway.
“We agreed for a single reason. It would have cost us more to go to trial,” a Minaj representative told Pitchfork.
Nicki Minaj (L) and Tracy Chapman (R) settled a copyright lawsuit.
(Getty)
Meanwhile, the Chapman representative said: “I am happy to have this matter resolved and grateful for this legal result which states that artists’ rights are protected by law and must be respected by other artists. to use my music; in each instance, politely and in a timely manner, I unequivocally said no. “
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“Apparently, Ms. Minaj chose not to listen to and use my composition, despite my clear and expressed intentions. As a composer and independent publisher, I am known for protecting my work. I never authorized the use of my music as samples or requested a sample This process was a last resort – carried out in an effort to defend myself and my work and seek protection for the creative endeavor and expression of composers and independent publishers like me, “concluded the statement.