Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment Wins Dismissal of 'Alien Superstar' Sample Lawsuit

In the sweltering summer of 2025, a lawsuit was filed against Beyoncé's label and management company, Parkwood Entertainment, over the EDM sample that opens her hit 2022 Renaissance track "Alien Superstar". The lawsuit, brought by Florida-based Hirose Enterprises LLC, alleged that the company owned the 1998 John Holiday song "Moonraker", which serves as the introduction to "Alien Superstar". A sample of "Moonraker"'s lyrics - "Please do not be alarmed, remain calm/ Do not attempt to leave the dancefloor/ The DJ booth is conducting a troubleshoot of the entire system" - is woven into the fabric of Beyoncé's song, evidence of her innovative approach to music production.

Parkwood was quick to clear the sample from Holiday, listing him in the lengthy Renaissance credits and paying him $10,000 plus 0.5% of the royalties from "Alien Superstar", which hit No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, Hirose Enterprises LLC claimed that it was actually the owner of the "Moonraker" copyrights, and thus should have been part of the licensing process. The company, owned by Shuji Hirose, the co-founder of now-defunct indie label Soundmen on Wax, alleged that Soundmen on Wax bought the "Moonraker" copyrights in 1998.

However, Parkwood argued that there was no paperwork documenting the purported transfer of rights, and thus it properly cleared the "Alien Superstar" sample from Holiday directly. But Judge Mark C. Scarsi didn't need to address those arguments in order to dismiss the lawsuit. That's because it turns out Hirose Enterprises was not actually formed until a week after the lawsuit was filed - a major legal defect that bars it from suing in the first place.

As Judge Scarsi wryly noted, quoting the "Moonraker" lyrics, "like the DJ booth referenced in the works at issue, this district judge must conduct a troubleshoot test of the entire system, that is, a jurisdictional inquiry, before reaching any of the parties' merits arguments." In other words, the judge had to investigate the legitimacy of the lawsuit before addressing the merits of the case. And what he found was that Hirose Enterprises had no legal existence at the time it brought suit, rendering it unable to hold a stake in the outcome of the litigation.

• Hirose Enterprises LLC, owned by Shuji Hirose, filed the lawsuit against Parkwood Entertainment in July 2025.
• Parkwood Entertainment cleared the sample from John Holiday, paying him $10,000 plus 0.5% of the royalties from "Alien Superstar".
• Judge Mark C. Scarsi dismissed the lawsuit due to Hirose Enterprises LLC's lack of legal existence at the time of filing.

The dismissal of this lawsuit marks a significant victory for Parkwood Entertainment, but it also highlights the importance of accurate record-keeping and the need for companies to ensure they have the necessary paperwork to back up their claims. As the music industry continues to evolve and new technologies emerge, it will be interesting to see how artists, labels, and management companies navigate the complex web of copyright laws and licensing agreements.