Shenseea Settles Another Lawsuit Over Copyright Infringement

Kemar TomlinsonJune 15, 2023

A copyright infringement lawsuit filed by American visual artist Stephanie Sarley over Shenseea’s 2019 music video for Foreplay has been settled with the Jamaican singer and her label Interscope Records.

This makes it the second lawsuit Sheensea settled in 2023. The singer had to settle an initial suit over her controversial single Lick featuring American rapper Meg Thee Stallion.

Sarley filed a settlement notice on Wednesday, June 14, seeking the Court to suspend all scheduled court dates and maintain jurisdiction until formal dismissal paperwork is submitted, which is expected within 60 days of the settlement agreement becoming effective.

Starley alleges that footage from three of her unique fruit video clips were unlawfully incorporated into Shenseea Foreplay’s music video.

According to Sarley, the edited clips in question were changed subtly in tones or tints to allow them to be utilized without her consent in the music video.

It was not revealed what the terms of the settlement are, but Sarley had sought damages of up to US$450,000 in the suit filed late last year.

For each of her three clips that were allegedly used without her consent, Starley sought an unspecified award of damages and profits or statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each of her clips.

In response, Shenseea’s Foreplay was taken down from YouTube after Sarley complained about the alleged infringement of her work. However, Shenseea released an edited version of the Foreplay video that removed Sarley’s fruit clips a few months later.