Songwriters cancels lawsuit against Taylor Swift

Hall and Butler told a Los Angeles federal judge that they would not pursue the 2017 case. The first hearing for the case was scheduled for January 17. According to Reuters, based on court documents, it is not clear whether a settlement has been reached.

In Shake It Off, Swift sings, “Players will play and play and play and play and haters will hate and hate and hate and hate.” Playas Gon’ Play, written by Hall and Butler, contained the lines: “Playas, they’ll play, and haters, they’ll hate.” The song, sung by 3LW, was released in 2001 to moderate success in the United States.

A judge had already dismissed the two’s lawsuit in 2018, but a US appeals court revived the case a year later.

Swift told the court in August that she had never heard 3LW’s song before writing Shake It Off. She said she had often heard the phrases “players will play” and “haters will hate” used to convey the idea that one can or should let go of negativity.

However, Hall and Butler insisted that the words were too close to be coincidental. They demanded an undisclosed amount of compensation.