Key Takeaways
- Producer Aviel Hirschfield voluntarily dismissed his copyright lawsuit against Drake, OVO Sound, and UMG over “Janice STFU” in its entirety without prejudice.
- Hirschfield claimed the chart-topping song copied his Lykke Li-inspired demo chorus “note-for-note,” while a Drake rep called the allegations “manufactured and baseless” and said the artist had no connection to him.
- The reason for the withdrawal remains unknown, and Hirschfield’s lawyer declined to comment as “Janice STFU” sits at No. 24 after 23 weeks on the Hot 100.
That’s a wrap, at least for now, on a producer’s lawsuit against Drake over his Iceman-era Hot 100 hit “Janice STFU.”
As first reported by Rolling Stone on Tuesday (Oct. 27), the widely questioned suit, stemming from producer Aviel Hirschfield, has been voluntarily dismissed. Complex has confirmed the dismissal through the retrieval of court docs filed on Tuesday. Per those docs, Hirschfield has indeed dismissed the suit “in its entirety without prejudice.”
The circumstances leading up to the suit being withdrawn are unknown for now.
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A rep for Drake previously slammed claims of the track’s chorus having been lifted from Hirschfield as part of a “manufactured and baseless” effort aimed at financial gain and attention.
“Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person, full stop,” the rep added earlier this month.
When reached for comment by Complex on Tuesday, Hirschfield's lawyer declined to comment.
OVO Sound and UMG had also been named in the newly dismissed suit. As Complex’s Shawn Setaro broke down in his reporting earlier this month, Hirschfield initially alleged that, in January of this year, he used a beat from FnZ to lay down vocals inspired by Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers.”
Hirschfield further alleged that Drake’s “Janice STFU,” which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, utilized a chorus that was a “note-for-note taking” of the one heard on his demo.
The claims drew fervent criticism on social media and elsewhere, with many questioning their veracity.
“Janice STFU,” an undeniable smash, has now spent 23 total weeks on the Hot 100 chart, where it’s currently hanging out at No. 24.
