Beyoncé’s label and management company, Parkwood Entertainment, says in new court papers that it properly licensed the EDM sample that opens her 2022 Renaissance track “Alien Superstar.”
Parkwood filed a motion on Wednesday (Dec. 17) to dismiss the copyright lawsuit brought this summer by indie label Soundmen on Wax Records, which claims to own the rights to the 1998 song “Moonraker.” Beyoncé sampled the song as the introduction to “Alien Superstar,” which hit No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Please do not be alarmed, remain calm/ Do not attempt to leave the dancefloor/ The DJ booth is conducting a troubleshoot of the entire system,” the spoken-word “Moonraker” lyrics read.
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It’s undisputed that Parkwood cleared the sample; court filings show that the company bought both a recording and composition license from “Moonraker” artist John Holiday in exchange for $10,000 and a 0.5% share of the “Alien Superstar” royalties. What’s in question, rather, is whether Holiday was the correct licensing party.
Soundmen on Wax claims it purchased the “Moonraker” rights from Holiday as part of a distribution deal back in 1998, and therefore it should have been the one to clear Beyoncé’s sample. But Parkwood maintains in Wednesday’s court filing that it followed proper procedure.
According to Parkwood’s lawyers from Latham & Watkins, there’s no paperwork documenting the supposed transfer of Holiday’s rights to Soundmen on Wax. Without documentation, Parkwood says, it couldn’t have been expected to know about conflicting claims to the “Moonraker” rights.
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“As plaintiff concedes, Parkwood obtained a master use and composition license for the relevant ‘Moonraker’ sample from Holiday,” write the Parkwood lawyers. “That good faith, nonexclusive license prevails over plaintiff’s alleged undocumented and undisclosed transfer, which was never recorded.”
Parkwood argues that this glaring issue makes the whole lawsuit “meritless,” and it should be easily thrown out. Sony Music and Warner Chappell, both named as defendants in the lawsuit as well, are backing Parkwood’s motion to dismiss. Beyoncé is not being sued.
Renaissance debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in August 2022 and was noted at the time for its extensive samples and interpolations. Some artists celebrated their references on the record, like “Show Me Love” singer Robin S, while others, such as “Milkshake” hitmaker Kelis, were less pleased.
These many samples spurred multiple lawsuits. In addition to the “Alien Superstar” claims, a little-known New Orleans group sued Beyoncé last year over the chart-topping Renaissance lead single “Break My Soul.” That suit, which alleged the song’s properly-cleared Big Freedia sample copied lyrics from a 2002 track called “Release a Wiggle,” was quickly dropped.
