Celebrity Justice
Beyonce Accused of a Musical Cover-Up

Posted Apr 18th 2007 12:06PM by TMZ Staff

Beyoncé Knowles is going to war with a pop star from the past who claims the former Destiny's Child star covered her song, but didn't cover her ass.
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According to a lawsuit filed yesterday in Manhattan Federal Court by music administators, Beyoncé allegedly never obtained proper clearance to cover a song called "I'm Kissing You," originally co-written by a singer named Des'ree -- famous for her 1994 smash hit, "You Gotta Be." Des'ree's version was used in Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film "Romeo and Juliet," Beyoncé's version can be found on the re-release of her album, "B'Day."

In the lawsuit, Des'ree and her reps claim that Beyoncé, along with her record company people, originally tried to work out a deal to use the song. When they weren't satisfied with the proposed terms -- which included not being able to change the title or make a music video for the song -- Beyoncé allegedly blew off copyright law completely, and recorded the song and video without permission. The song was eventually released on Beyoncé's album, "B'Day - Deluxe Edition" on April 3, 2007, with the title "Still in Love (Kissing You)."

Des'ree is suing to halt distribution of the song, video and album and seeking at least $150,000 in damages.

Lawyers for Beyoncé and Des'ree couldn't be reached for comment.

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Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Beyonce Knowles


Tags: beyonce, des'ree

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(Page 3 of 6)Previous 15 Comments | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

31. i think she needs to hit her up for 3 million i guess deseree is jut a nice person well beyonce i guess you learned your lesson. too bad neyo hasnt sued her yet. I thought she wrote that song. yeah well everyone better watch out for beyonces fan club starts terrrioring people! hahahaha i hope derseee wins she straight up jacked this womens song if it is true

Posted at 7:26PM on Apr 18th 2007 by crazy

32. I think every song Beyonce does is a cover song or a re-sampled sample of a rap song that sampled an old Steely Dan song or remake of a 60s song,etc.

Posted at 10:22PM on Apr 18th 2007 by John C jackson

33. BEYONCE - THINKS SHE IS ALL THAT... SHE SINGS WELL..... DANCES WELL.... BUT ONLY TAKNG PEOPLE FORMONEY... IT PUZZLES ME AND MANY OTHER FRIENDS OF MINE -WHY J-ZAY HASNOT YET ENGAGED HER???????????????THIS IS QUITE A MYSTERY......

Posted at 10:31PM on Apr 18th 2007 by shirl smith

34. $150,000 is what Beyonce carries around in the pocket of her jeans every day. Please.

Posted at 10:35PM on Apr 18th 2007 by Miss Girl

35. Just unbeweavable!! Ms. Beweavce at it again!!

Posted at 12:07AM on Apr 19th 2007 by Whenwillitstop?????????

36. it serves beyonce right. the song kissing you was written as a sonnet (a 14-line love poem for those who don't know) and she crucified it with all her runs, additional lyrics and all the foolishness she added to it. her version loses the essence of the original and that line about her man meaning more to her than music is depicted rather clearly on this record. the deterioration of her music is beyond me really. sue her ass. it's about freakin time!

Posted at 5:10AM on Apr 19th 2007 by Mizz Tig

37. Yeah, you can cover songs without the artists permission, but you can't put them in an album and sell them without compensation.

Posted at 7:01AM on Apr 19th 2007 by lawyerguydidn'tgraduate

38. Damn, she could have changed it a lil' bit,sheesh she just re sang the same song.

Posted at 9:22AM on Apr 19th 2007 by FugNasty

39. Please, she should be paying a lot more than that! and no one can sing that song better than des'ree. I hate when artists do covers and I hate beyonce too.

Posted at 12:00PM on Apr 19th 2007 by gatica

40. You don't need a license to record a cover of someone elses song. all you have to do is give notice to the copyright owner notice within 30 days of the song being recorded, and before it is distributed. its called a compulsory license

Posted at 1:07PM on Apr 19th 2007 by Ben

41. I think people should finally know that beyonce is a cheap self center bitch. I mean she does have talent but she should know the world doesn't revolve around her and what she wants she doesn't always get. I hope des'ree gets every penny plus more. I was so happy to see she didn't get recognize for her performance in dream girls. That would of put her over the top with the huge ego she already has. Having dancers working under paid. CHEAP

Posted at 2:48PM on Apr 19th 2007 by LaTavia Roberson

42. I did music licensing for a long time. This lawsuit is b.s. Anyone can do a cover of anyone's song without asking for the copyright holder's permission, THAT IS in the copyright law (you can also do a parody without asking for permission but that is another story). Beyonce's record company (not her management) has to pay the mechanical royalty rate, which is set by the government in the US copyright law, and is non-negotiable. The negotiations with the writers/publishers (note, not the original artist) of the track come only when doing synchronization rights (when songs appear on TV, movies, etc.) and that negotiation is not done by beyonce's management, but by whatever movie, tv show wants to use it. It should have been beyonce's record label that tried to negotiate a deal to use the song on a music video. Since music video's are basically a marketing technique, it is in the copyright holder's best interest to give a good deal or give the song for gratis, BECAUSE the more albums Beyonce sells the MORE money the copyright holder makes on an old song that already had it's day. They should be thankful that Beyonce is going to make them MILLIONS, because that mechanical rate set by the government means the copyright holder is going to make a royalty for each time Beyonce's album is sold and each time her song is played on the radio, etc. $150,000.00 is a drop in the bucket compared to how muc money Beyonce is going to make for them.

Posted at 4:26PM on Apr 19th 2007 by justme

43. From what I heard, Be'Yonce's version sounds like crap.

Posted at 9:35PM on Apr 19th 2007 by Alaina

44. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ YOU ARE SO RIGHT! I TRIED TO LISTEN TO DESREE VERSION, I JUST COULDN'T EVEN GET INTO IT! THE LYRICS ARE NOT THE SAME THERE ARE 2 LINES THAT ARE ALMOST THE SAME, OTHER THAN THAT NOT REMOTELY DUPLICATED. HOW IS SHE TRYING TO STEAL THE SONG WHEN SHE GIVES DESRE AND THE OTHER WRITER CREDIT ON HER B-DAY RE-RELEASE CD? IT IS A BUNCH OF IGNORANT PEOPLE IN THE ORLD TODAY!

Posted at 6:34AM on Apr 20th 2007 by CHERYLINMIAMI

45. Keeping it real I dont think B is that great of a singer, truth is she is just selling sex ! She should be sued , she is not above the law I dont care how naked she is on her video's LOL so pay up !!

Posted at 12:11PM on Apr 20th 2007 by Angiep

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