Kanye West ordered to pay six‑figure damages for uncleared sample at Donda listening party

A Los Angeles jury found rapper Ye (Kanye West) and three of his companies liable for copyright infringement after an early version of the song “Hurricane” was played at his July 2021 Donda listening event in Atlanta’s Mercedes‑Benz Stadium. The plaintiffs, four musicians who created the 2018 instrumental “MSD PT2,” argued the sample was used without a license and that the event generated millions in ticket, merchandise and streaming revenue. Jurors ordered West personally to pay $176,153, Yeezy LLC $176,153, Yeezy Supply $41,625 and Mascotte Holdings $44,627, for a total of $438,558 in damages.

West removed the sample from the final commercial release of “Hurricane,” which later won a Grammy, but the jury ruled the earlier performance constituted infringement. His legal team says the verdict will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit.