Disclosure and Alunageorge face allegations of stolen lyrics from songwriter Katie Sopher
Two groups that have largely avoided public spectacle are now at the center of a brewing legal debacle. A previously unknown songwriter named Katie Farrah Sopher has reached the media with claims that lyrics for the famous tunes “Latch,” “White Noise,” “You and Me,” and “Attracting Flies” of Disclosure and Alunageorge catalogues were all stolen from her and used without her consent. Sopher allegedly claims that Sean Sawyers, her “violent ex-boyfriend,” stole her songbook in 2009 and has since passed it on through the industry without her permission.
Sopher is seeking £200,000 in compensation for her lyrics which she claims were all inspired by her abusive five-year relationship. She cites domestic abuse references like “black and blue” in “White Noise” and the entire outline of “Attracting Flies” from Alunageorge’s Body Music as evidence that these lyrics were originally hers.
In response, Sawyers has denied all accusations and released a statement: “I am denying all the allegations … There is zero truth to the claims made against me. I never saw the book the claimant mentions [so] I could not have committed the alleged damages, theft, (and) copyright infringement.”
Via: Pitchfork
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