Beyoncé
Music Company Sues For Alleged Unauthorized ‘Renaissance’ Sample
Published
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.”
The suit claims Beyoncé and her team did not obtain a license at all for the use of the sample before the release … but did obtain one weeks after the album release … but only from the performer Holiday, who Hirose claims had transferred his entire interest in the song decades earlier.
Hirose says it put Beyoncé’s company is on notice about the infringement but has continued to sell the record. The company is seeking an injunction to stop Beyoncé from continuing to make money off their work and for unspecified damages.