Max has released the Taking on Taylor Swift trailer for CNN FlashDocs’ upcoming documentary, centering around the 2017 copyright lawsuit filed against the global popstar for her chart-topping song “Shake It Off” from 2014. The documentary will start streaming on Max on October 20.
The video highlights the lawsuit filed by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler. The songwriting duo claimed that the lyrics “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play…And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,” from the beginning of Swift’s “Shake If Off” chorus was allegedly plagiarized from their 2001 song “Playas Gon’ Play,” which was performed by the former girl group 3LW. Their lawsuit took five years in court before it was dropped without receiving its final verdict.
Check out the Taking on Taylor Swift trailer below (watch more trailers):
What to expect in Taking on Taylor Swift?
The documentary explores creativity, credit, and the hazy line between cultural appreciation and appropriation. It is produced by the CNN FlashDocs unit, with Eric Johnson and Emily Taguchi serving as an executive producer and supervising producer, respectively.
“As Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour expands around the globe and onto the silver screen, CNN’s investigation into the copyright lawsuit brought by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler against Swift for her hit song “Shake it Off,” reads the logline. “TAKING ON TAYLOR SWIFT scrutinizes the legal, ethical and cultural merits of this case and similar lawsuits lodged against some of the world’s biggest pop stars.”
For the first time since taking legal action, Hall spoke exclusively to CNN, along with his attorney Marina V. Bogorad, about their experience taking on an indisputable giant of the music industry. It features interviews from songwriters Tayla Parx and Kandi Burruss, along with provocative observations from critics and journalists including Shirley Halperin (Los Angeles Magazine), Sidney Madden (NPR), and Mikael Wood (Los Angeles Times).
The 2014 song is set to be re-released as “Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)” on October 27, as part of the Grammy winner’s re-recording of her 1989 album. The re-recorded album will feature 21 tracks including five unreleased songs such as “Slut,” “Suburban Legends,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Say Don’t Go,” and “Is It Over Now?”
