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Jury Orders Kanye West to Pay $438K for Sample Infringement

5/13/2026

Summary

Ye Pays Damages

A U.S. jury ordered Kanye West (Ye) to pay damages for his 2021 “Hurricane” infringement.
Ye, Yeezy LLC, Yeezy Supply and Mascotte Holdings must pay $438,558 total.
Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Sam Barsh, Josh Mease and Dan Seeff said their 2018 instrumental “MSD PT2” was sampled without permission.
Ye claimed he thought the sample was cleared, yet the jury’s decision set a precedent linking a stadium-scale album preview to copyright liability.

Summary

ARA Appeals Verdict

ARA will appeal the May 12 2026 verdict to the Ninth Circuit to restore “Hurricane” claims and seek larger damages.
The judge dismissed the case because Artist Revenue Advocates owned only the master-recording rights to “MSD PT2,” not the composition rights, limiting the trial to the demo sample.
“Hurricane” became the most-streamed Donda track after its Aug. 29 2021 release, with Ye testifying that he followed clearance and was “very generous” with credit and royalties.

History

Historical Context

The 1991 Grand Upright Music v. Warner Bros. decision, in which Gilbert O'Sullivan sued Biz Markie for sampling “Alone Again (Naturally),” established that unlicensed sampling infringes copyright and forced the hip-hop industry to clear every sample. That precedent guided the 2026 jury verdict against Kanye West, Yeezy LLC and Mascotte Holdings for using the 2018 “MSD PT2” instrumental without clearance, reinforcing strict licensing practices today.

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Ye Pays Damages

A U.S. jury ordered Kanye West (Ye) to pay damages for his 2021 “Hurricane” infringement.
Ye, Yeezy LLC, Yeezy Supply and Mascotte Holdings must pay $438,558 total.
Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Sam Barsh, Josh Mease and Dan Seeff said their 2018 instrumental “MSD PT2” was sampled without permission.
Ye claimed he thought the sample was cleared, yet the jury’s decision set a precedent linking a stadium-scale album preview to copyright liability.

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