How to Prove You Wrote a Song First: Lessons from the Drake “Janice STFU” Lawsuit

If a hit song sounds exactly like your demo, the argument that follows is about dates: who had the song, in what form, and when. That is the heart of this month’s copyright lawsuit against Drake over the chorus of “Janice STFU”. Here is what the case is about, why the usual shortcuts are weak, and the practical steps that help you prove you wrote a song first, or at least show exactly what you had and when.

What the “Janice STFU” lawsuit is about

On 16 October 2026, songwriter and producer Aviel Calev Hirschfield, who records as GoodbyeCalev, sued Drake, OVO Sound, UMG Recordings and Universal Music Publishing in federal court in Los Angeles. Billboard, which first reported the complaint on 16 October, says it alleges the chorus of “Janice STFU” is “literally identical” to a demo Hirschfield wrote in December 2025 and January 2026 over an instrumental from the production duo FnZ.

According to Music Business Worldwide’s 19 October report, the complaint says Hirschfield finished the recording in his home studio on or around 25 January 2026 and sent it to FnZ and other producers in Drake’s circle. The song came out on 15 May 2026. The complaint says that after the song’s release, Hirschfield’s manager gave Drake’s representatives the stems from his recording software “with metadata intact”. It alleges Drake’s side has suggested he manipulated that metadata.

Drake’s team strongly denies the claims. A representative told Billboard the allegations are “categorically, unequivocally and completely denied” and that “Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person, full stop.” The allegations are untested, and we take no view on who is right.

Why “who had it first” comes down to dates

Hirschfield’s case is a timeline: when the chorus was written, when it was sent and to whom, and when the song was released. MBW also notes that Drake previewed an early version of the song, then titled “That’s Just How I Feel”, on a livestream on 4 September 2025, before the period in which the complaint says the chorus was composed. MBW adds that a published transcription of that preview does not appear to include the disputed chorus. Dates cut both ways.

It is not a one-off. In July, MBW reported that three Los Angeles songwriters had sued HYBE over BTS’s “SWIM”. They allege it copied a demo they finished in March 2025, and attach a Disco.ac listening report they say shows recipients played it.

In “we wrote it first” disputes, a precise, credible timeline beats memory and a hard drive.

Why emailing yourself is weak evidence

The oldest shortcut is “poor man’s copyright”: posting or emailing a copy of your song to yourself. The US Copyright Office’s FAQ is blunt: “There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.”

A self-addressed email can still be part of a record, but you control both ends of it, attachments get re-exported or compressed, and the other side can always ask whether anything was altered. File metadata has the same problem: DAW and audio-file dates are useful but easy to dispute. As the Drake complaint shows, the other side can simply say the metadata was manipulated.

What split sheets and PRO registration do, and don’t, prove

A split sheet is a signed, dated record of who wrote what share of a song. Hitsculture’s 23 October guide, written in response to the Drake case, says it should be completed “during or right after the session, before the song is pitched or released”. In Hitsculture’s reading, Hirschfield had no split sheet and no co-writer registration with a performing rights organisation (PRO), and his US copyright registration took effect on 21 July 2026, more than two months after the song was released. MBW notes that under US law this timing generally rules out statutory damages and legal fees for infringement that began before registration.

These records are essential, but know what each one does:

• A split sheet records what the people in the room agreed. It cannot help with someone who was never in the room, such as a producer who received your demo by email.
• PRO registration tells the society how to pay royalties. APRA AMCOS explains that registering a work “does not, in and of itself, determine or even record actual copyright ownership”, and that it cannot investigate or rule on ownership disputes.
• US copyright registration creates a public record and affects US remedies, but only from the date you register.

None of them shows what your demo sounded like the day you sent it. That is where dated, unaltered files matter.

The Australian angle: there is no copyright register

For Australian writers, the gap is wider. The Attorney-General’s Department says copyright protection “is free and automatic in Australia. There is no formal registration system or specific documentation to prove that you are the creator and owner.” It warns that websites selling copyright “registration” have no authority to guarantee protection here.

So what counts if a dispute arises? APRA AMCOS’s own FAQ answers that you “need to be able to prove that you created the work”, and that “the best evidence of this would be early drafts or recordings of the work as well as diaries detailing its development.” Your records are only as strong as your ability to show when they existed and that they haven’t changed. If your songs will be exploited in the US, ask a lawyer about US registration too.

What a blockchain timestamp proves, and what it doesn’t

A SHA-256 hash is a digital fingerprint of a file. Change one sample in a WAV or one word in a lyric sheet and it changes completely. A blockchain timestamp records that fingerprint on a public blockchain. That shows the exact file existed no later than the time it was recorded.

With TimeBinder, you choose your files in the TimeBinder app and each one is hashed locally in your browser. Your audio is never uploaded. Only the hash is anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain, and you receive a Proof of Time Certificate. Anyone you share it with can re-hash the file to check it matches. An ASAP TimeBind has its own Bitcoin transaction, so it can be checked without relying on TimeBinder. (How verification works)

The limits matter. A timestamp:

• does show that a specific demo, stem or lyric file existed, byte for byte, by a verifiable time;
• does make any later change detectable, so “you edited the metadata” becomes much harder to argue about that file;
• does not prove who wrote the song, or that someone else copied it;
• does not replace split sheets, registration or legal advice;
• does not decide what a court will accept. That is always a matter for the court.

It is one independent strand in your evidence trail, alongside session files, messages, split sheets and witnesses. See our IP & Creative Industry page and our earlier post on dating song lyrics and demo recordings.

How to prove you wrote a song first: practical steps

• Stamp at every stage. TimeBind the voice-memo idea, the lyric draft, the rough bounce, the stems and the final demo as you go. A run of dated versions beats one file stamped at the end.
• Stamp the exact files, and keep them byte-identical. Verification needs the same file, and re-exporting or converting changes the bytes. Keep originals untouched and backed up, and work from copies.
• Keep your session files and drafts. DAW projects, alternate takes and lyric notebooks show how the song developed. APRA AMCOS calls this kind of material the best evidence.
• Record collaborators in a split sheet. Sign it on the day, send it to everyone in the session with a reference bounce, and TimeBind the signed PDF too.
• Timestamp what you send. Before a demo goes to a producer, label, publisher or writing camp, TimeBind the exact file you are sending, and log who received what and when.
• Use the optional fields. Note the working title and collaborators in Reference and Details.
• Register and get advice. Register works with your PRO (APRA AMCOS in Australia and New Zealand) before release. If a dispute arises, talk to a lawyer early.

AI can rewrite files. It can’t rewrite time. Before your next demo leaves the studio, create an independent record of exactly what you had and when. The Free plan includes one Pooled TimeBind a month (see pricing).

TimeBind Files Now →

This article is general information, not legal advice. It describes allegations in a lawsuit that have not been tested in court. Sources were checked on 24 October 2026.