|
 Songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler said in
a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court in Los Angeles that
Swift's song used the phrase "players, they gonna play, and
haters, they gonna hate," that they had coined for a 2001 song
"Playas Gon' Play" by R&B girl group 3LW.
Swift's lyric from her 2014 hit "Shake It Off" is: "the players
gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate,
hate, hate, hate, hate."
"This is a ridiculous claim and nothing more than a money grab,"
Swift's representatives said in a statement. "The law is simple
and clear. They do not have a case."
Hall and Butler are seeking unspecified damages and a jury
trial.
Hall, a songwriter and producer for artists such as Justin
Bieber and Maroon 5, and Butler, who has worked with artists
such as Backstreet Boys and Luther Vandross, claimed that the
combination of playas or players with hatas or haters was unique
to its use in 3LW's "Playas Gon' Play."
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"In 2001 it was completely original and unique. Indeed, the
combination had not been used in popular culture prior," the lawsuit
said.
Hall and Butler said the phrase accounts for about 20 percent of the
lyrics of "Shake It Off." They claimed that Swift and her team
"undoubtedly had access to 'Playas Gon' Play'" before writing and
releasing her song.
"Defendant Swift has admitted that she watched MTV's TRL which
promoted 'Playas Gon' Play,'" the lawsuit said.
It said "Playas Gon' Play" debuted at No. 7 on MTV's Total Request
Live in March 2001 and that 3LW's debut album sold more than 1
million copies.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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