Kanye West has reached an out-of-court settlement in the copyright lawsuit involving his 2024 track “Gun to My Head.” German singer-songwriter Alice Merton alleged that the recording used material from her song “Blindside” without authorization, despite her previous refusal to grant permission. The agreement removes the case from its scheduled March 2027 trial, although the settlement remains subject to completion. No financial terms have been disclosed, and no court has ruled that copyright infringement occurred.
Kanye West has reached a settlement with German singer-songwriter Alice Merton, bringing their copyright dispute over “Gun to My Head” closer to a resolution. A November 6, 2026 court filing confirmed that the parties had agreed to settle the case, subject to the completion of specified obligations. The development removes the lawsuit from the schedule of upcoming court proceedings.
The agreement does not yet represent an unconditional, final conclusion. Its financial terms have not been released, and neither side has publicly detailed what the settlement requires. There is therefore no confirmed information about compensation, possible licensing arrangements, changes to the recording or any admission of responsibility by the rapper.
A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, leaving a limited opportunity for the parties to seek its reopening if the agreement is not completed. Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha vacated the remaining deadlines, including the trial previously scheduled for March 15, 2027.
The order provides a 90-day window during which either party may request that the litigation be reopened if settlement performance becomes a problem. If the outstanding obligations are completed, the parties can instead seek a final dismissal with prejudice. The procedural distinction means that the present dismissal is not a verdict on the underlying copyright allegations.
The dispute centered on “Gun to My Head,” a recording associated with the digital deluxe edition of West’s 2024 album Vultures 2. Merton alleged that the track incorporated portions of her earlier song “Blindside,” released in 2022, without obtaining the necessary authorization from the relevant rights holders.
According to the complaint, a clearance request had been sent through BMG in February 2024. Merton refused permission the following month. She alleged that the recording was nevertheless released later that year, creating the basis for her lawsuit filed in March 2025.
The reason she gave for refusing authorization became one of the most closely examined aspects of the case. Merton is a descendant of Holocaust survivors and said she did not want her music associated with West because of his previous antisemitic remarks.
Her refusal was presented as a personal and professional decision informed by her family’s history. It was not, by itself, evidence that a copyright violation had occurred. That separate legal question would have required the court to assess the recordings, the applicable rights and the supporting evidence had the dispute proceeded to trial.
West’s legal team challenged the evidence supporting the infringement claim. His lawyers also argued that “Gun to My Head” had not been made available through conventional streaming platforms. Instead, it appeared on a digital deluxe version of Vultures 2 that was offered for purchase during a two-day period in 2024.
Those arguments were part of the defense rather than findings that resolved the lawsuit. The parties remained in disagreement over the alleged sampling and the legal significance of the available evidence. No final judgment on those issues resulted from the settlement.
The case attracted further attention in October 2026, when West’s lawyers sought to remove references to antisemitism and the Holocaust from the complaint. They argued that the material was unrelated to a copyright dispute and should not remain part of the proceedings.
Judge Aenlle-Rocha rejected that request. The court found that the allegations could help explain why Merton had refused to authorize the use of her music and might therefore be relevant to the litigation. The ruling addressed which allegations could remain in the case, not whether West had infringed Merton’s copyright.
Several weeks later, the parties informed the court that a negotiated resolution had been reached. Their settlement notice anticipated approximately 30 to 45 days to complete the required obligations after the written agreement was signed.
The settlement also affected other pending proceedings. A hearing on the defense’s summary judgment motion had been scheduled for November 20, but the dismissal order canceled the remaining deadlines. The March trial will not proceed under the existing schedule unless further action changes the status of the case.
The confidential nature of the agreement leaves several practical questions unanswered. It is not known whether the settlement involves payment, any new permission concerning the sample, adjustments to credits or restrictions on future distribution. None of those possibilities should be presented as an agreed term without additional documentation.
The dispute is one of several copyright cases West has faced over allegations involving samples and interpolations of existing music. Some have ended in negotiated settlements. Another case involving material connected to his 2021 album Donda reached trial earlier in 2026 and resulted in a jury finding of copyright infringement.
The rapper’s history of antisemitic statements has also affected his public and professional life since 2022. In January 2026, he published a lengthy apology addressing earlier remarks and behavior. That statement does not determine the copyright issues raised by Merton, nor does it change the fact that she previously refused to authorize the sample.
For now, the key development is the negotiated settlement rather than a legal ruling on the disputed recording. The lawsuit has been removed from the active court calendar, and the planned trial has been canceled. Whether the agreement becomes final depends on the parties completing their outstanding obligations within the applicable period.
