Did Fortnite rip off a Charlie Puth dance? It’s complicated

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the lawsuit launched against Fortnite maker Epic Games by the choreographer behind the dance routine in the video for the Charlie Puth song ‘How Long’ alleging that an 'emote' available within the gaming platform utilises his choreography without licence, and the US Copyright Royalty Board's rejection of industry proposals on royalty rates for discs and downloads. SECTION TIMES 01: Fortnite dance (00:05:56) 02: Copyright Royalty Board (00:15:57) (Timings may be slightly different due to adverts) STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK • Choreographer on Charlie Puth video reignites debate about dance copyright on Fortnite • US Copyright Royalty Board rejects proposal to keep mechanical royalty on discs and downloads unchanged ALSO MENTIONED • Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dies • Mira Calix dies • The Wanted’s Tom Parker dies MORE FROM CMU • Upcoming CMU webinars • Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon • Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin