Copyright Lawsuit Over Taylor Swift’s Song ‘Shake It Off’ Dropped Before Heading To Trial

Topline

A copyright lawsuit against Taylor Swift was dropped Monday after five years, ending a long-running dispute alleging one of Taylor Swift’s most popular songs—2014’s “Shake It Up”—was lyrically similar to a track released by R&B girl group 3LW more than a decade earlier.

Key Facts

Lawyers for Swift and for the songwriters of the 2001 song “Playas Gon’ Play” by 3LW, Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, jointly requested in a filing in California federal court an order dismissing the suit in its entirety.

District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald from the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California, granted the dismissal Monday.

The filing didn’t include any information about whether the parties reached a settlement, or what led to the dissolution of the suit.

The suit was scheduled to head to trial in mid-January.

Key Background

Hall and Butler sued Swift in 2017 over “Shake It Off,” which was released in 2014. In their initial filing, they claimed that “they created the original and unique lyrical phrase ‘Playas, they gonna play / And haters, they gonna hate’ which is featured prominently in the chorus” of “Shake It Off.” Swift’s attorney’s repeatedly tried to get the case dismissed, claiming “haters gonna hate” is not an original phrase, according to Billboard.

Crucial Quote

“Playas/ They gon’ play/ And haters/ They gonna hate/ Ballers/ They gon’ ball/ Shot callers/ They gonna call,” 3LW sings on their track. The chorus to “Shake It Off” is similar: “Players gonna play, play, play, play, play/ And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate/ Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake/ I shake it off, I shake it off.”

Tangent

The news of the “Shake It Off” lawsuit getting dropped comes on the same day one of Swift’s new songs, “Anti-Hero,” was expected to tie “Blank Space” as the longest-leading No. 1 of her career. “Anti-Hero” has spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Blank Space” has spent seven. However, this week the song ranked at No. 6 on the chart, the furthest it’s strayed from No. 1 since it was released in October, after being topped by Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” other holiday songs, and Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage’s “Creepin’.”

Further Reading

Taylor Swift Copyright Accusers Drop Lawsuit Over ‘Shake It Off’ After Five Years Of Litigation (Billboard)