Katy Perry & Capitol Records Ordered To Pay $2.78M For Copying Song

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Katy Perry Personally Responsible For $500K In “Dark Horse” Lawsuit

Katy Perry and her collaborators at Capitol Records have been ordered to pay $2.78 million after a federal jury ruled that the pop star copied one of her hit songs.

The jury previously found that Perry’s 2013 hit “Dark Horse” copied a 2009 Christian rap song titled “Joyful Noise.”

It’s a victory for rapper Marcus Gray, whose 5-year-old lawsuit survived constant court challenges and a trial against top-flight attorneys for Perry and the five other musicians who wrote her song. The amount won, however, falls short of the nearly $20 million sought by attorneys for Gray and the song’s two co-writers.

Katy Perry herself was hit for just over $550,000 of the total, with Capitol Records responsible for the biggest part of the award — $1.2 million.

Perry’s attorney, Christine Lepera, said that they plan to vigorously fight this decision.

The pop star took the witness stand on the first day of the trial, testifying that she had never heard of Gray or “Joyful Noise” before he sued. The jury then heard testimony from musicologists on the disputed section of the two songs — a piece of the musical backing track that plays during the verses of “Dark Horse” and throughout almost all of “Joyful Noise.”

Jurors gave a sweeping verdict on Monday that held all six songwriters responsible for copying “Joyful Noise.” That includeds Perry, her co-lyricist Sarah Hudson, and Juicy J, who provided a verse for the song. The instrumental track that was most at issue was created by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Circuit.

The nine jurors deliberated for two full days to reach their initial verdict, but took only a few hours to decide on dollar amounts. Perry’s five co-writers were each given penalties to pay that ranged from about $60,000 for Dr. Luke to more than $250,000 for Martin.

If the judge upholds the verdict, the case will almost certainly head to an appeals court, where jury awards in similar cases have often been changed or thrown out in recent years.