Katy Perry, Team Owe Rapper $2.78 Million for Ripping Off Song

Katy Perry and her collaborators must pay a Christian rapper $2.78 million for ripping off his work to create the hit song “Dark Horse,” a California jury said.

Marcus Gray, known as Flame, accused Perry of relying on a repeating rhythm that was nearly identical to one in his song “Joyful Noise” as the backbone of her song. The verdict shows that artists must wary of the line between being influenced by another work and infringing a copyright.

Perry owes $550,000, Capitol Records owes $1.3 million, and the rest must be paid by various producers and writers, according to the ...