Beyoncé Sued Over Alleged Unauthorized Sample on 'Renaissance' Album
Hirose Enterprise and producer Shuji Hirose claim a portion of the song 'Alien Superstar' infringes on their rights to John Holiday's 'Moonraker'.
Beyoncé is facing a lawsuit over an allegedly unauthorized sample used in her 2022 hit song "Alien Superstar," featured on her album "Renaissance." The suit was filed by Hirose Enterprise and producer Shuji Hirose, who claim copyright infringement.
The plaintiffs allege that Beyoncé and her team sampled a "spoken-word introduction" from a song titled "Moonraker," by musician John Holiday, without proper licensing. According to the lawsuit, Hirose Enterprise owns the rights to "Moonraker" and claims Holiday had transferred these rights decades prior to Beyoncé securing a license from the performer.
The lawsuit states that Beyoncé's company was notified of the alleged infringement but has continued to sell the record. Hirose Enterprise is seeking an injunction to stop further monetization of the song and unspecified damages.
"Renaissance," Beyoncé's seventh studio album, was released in 2022 and includes 16 tracks. The album was followed by the "Renaissance World Tour," which concluded in October 2023. While the tour briefly held the record for the highest-grossing tour by a female artist, it was later surpassed by Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour."
In recent years, Beyoncé has achieved significant career milestones, including reaching billionaire status in December 2023. Her eighth studio album, "Cowboy Carter," released in 2024, marked a creative turn into country music and was supported by a subsequent tour.