George Ezra reportedly forced to pay out royalties after Irish singer accuses him of copying 'Shotgun'

Derek Ryan claimed the hit track was similar to his 2014 song 'Flowers in Your Hair'

George Ezra has reportedly been forced to pay royalties for his hit song “Shotgun”, after a claim of copyright infringement from Irish singer-songwriter Derek Ryan.

The Sun claims that the settlement now sees Ryan, 35, receive seven-and-a-half per cent of income from the song, after he claimed it was similar to his 2014 track “Flowers in Your Hair”.

Ezra, 25, claimed that he had never heard of Ryan’s song before he penned “Shotgun”. However, lawyers reportedly agreed to reach a settlement with Ryan.

“Shotgun” was released as a digital download in May of last year, going on to become Ezra’s first number-one song in the UK, Ireland, and Australia. It was awarded platinum certification.

The track formed part of his second studio album Staying at Tamara’s, which was released on 23 March. “Don’t Matter Now” and “Paradise” were also released as singles off the album.