Taking on Taylor Swift (Max Friday October 20, 2023)

Published

1 month ago

October 20, 2023

CNN’s investigation into the copyright lawsuit against Taylor Swift for her hit song “Shake it Off” will be streaming on Friday on Max in a special called “Taking on Taylor Swift.”

The 2017 lawsuit, which was settled and dismissed in 2022, alleged that the chorus of Swift’s song was a direct copy of a song written by Sean Hall and Nathan Butler. This special explores the legal, ethical, and cultural aspects of the case, as well as similar lawsuits against other pop stars. It features interviews with Hall and his attorney, as well as insights from other songwriters and critics.

Check out the official trailer

The lawsuit claimed that the chorus of Swift’s song, which goes “’cause the players gonna play, play, play…,” was taken from a song called “Playas Gon’ Play” written by Hall and Butler in 2000. The song was made famous by the girl group 3LW. The case was settled and dismissed in 2022, but this special gives Hall the opportunity to speak about his experience taking on a major figure in the music industry.

“Taking on Taylor Swift” examines the legal, ethical, and cultural implications of this case, as well as other similar lawsuits against popular musicians. The special includes interviews with songwriters Tayla Parx and Kandi Burruss, as well as critics and journalists such as Shirley Halperin, Sidney Madden, and Mikael Wood.

For CNN FlashDocs, Eric Johnson serves as an Executive Producer and Emily Taguchi serves as Supervising Producer. The unit is led by Katie Hinman, Vice President of Program Development for CNN Worldwide.

Taking on Taylor Swift Premieres Friday October 20, 2023 on Max.