Tom Petty to get songwriting royalties for Sam Smith song "Stay With Me"

[punkmother]

Its a true story.
I don't know if he won because he's wrote both songs, or if there was a different chord in one of the songs that differentiated them.

i meant, i didn't know if you were serious about why he won. its because the lawsuit was a complete joke. he won because he was being sued for plagiarizing himself. the court ruled you are allowed to have your own distinct style.

 

[Tomie]

Don't most pop songs use the same chords? C, AM, G? I'm sure at one point or another a song will sound similar to another.

 

[Anung Un Rama]

i meant, i didn't know if you were serious about why he won. its because the lawsuit was a complete joke. he won because he was being sued for plagiarizing himself. the court ruled you are allowed to have your own distinct style.

i figured, I just wasn't sure.

 

[Simian Raticus]

Those three notes at the top of the refrain, over the same chords...if Sam had just changed one of those notes, he would probably have been clear.

True, but it wouldn't sound the same, and maybe wouldn't be a hit without that hook. To me there's a lot of perceived plagiarism in popular music just because there's not a lot of wiggle room as far as what sounds generically good. So it's not unlikely that two artists are gonna make the same choice in a given situation completely independent of one another.

 

[Viva]

You disagree?

Nah I agree wholeheartedly.

Its nice to see a songwriter who isn't afraid to tell it how it is.

Unlike Sam Smith. Who is a giant poof.

 

[Kingz]

Don't you think a company would sue Radiohead, especially for Creep royalties, if the songs were actually identical?

Radiohead was successfully sued for plagiarism and the writers of "The Air That I Breathe" are now credited as co-writers of "Creep".

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Radiohead was successfully sued for plagiarism and the writers of "The Air That I Breathe" are now credited as co-writers of "Creep".

I know that

Spoiler

now

 

[Devout Pessimist]

Its a true story.
I don't know if he won because he's wrote both songs, or if there was a different chord in one of the songs that differentiated them.

I believe the ruling was that an individual cannot be charged for copying themselves.

 

[kurtwpg]

I believe the ruling was that an individual cannot be charged for copying themselves.

I don't think so. I believe Fogerty played both songs in court and explained the differences between them.

 

[Jesse Pinkman]

Apparently the smash hit song "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith was deemed to be so much like Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" that Petty has been listed as a writer on the song and will receive a 12.5% writing credit and royalties for the song. This was actually settled out of court - it sounds like Smith gave it up voluntarily as soon as people started noting the similarities.

http://www.nme.com/news/sam-smith/82462?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=kanyewest

Except...for me....what similarities? I am not very musically inclined - I don't play anything and never have...can't sing for shit either. But I listen to music like anyone else does and really can't hear anything alike in these songs. Certainly not enough to think it was some sort of blatant rip off of the Tom Petty song. Especially since I had always believed it was very hard to prove this kind of thing and artists rarely have success trying to prove someone stole their songwriting ideas.

What do you think Mayberry?

[YT]nUTXb-ga1fo#t=60[/YT]

[YT]pB-5XG-DbAA[/YT]

I play in some kind of professional capacity. There is a basis for the lawsuit for sure. Music is copyrighted on melodies. The melody is pretty much identical to Petty's although in a different key

 

[Nonsense]

You guys all wish you could sing like Sam Smith. You hate him cause you ain't him.

 

[Jesse Pinkman]

Don't most pop songs use the same chords? C, AM, G? I'm sure at one point or another a song will sound similar to another.

You can't copyright a chord progression. Most hit songs use the same kinds of chord progressions

 

[RoadKing Custom]

Nothing harmless about your shit but I do indeed forgive you.

I win

That hurts man..

 

[weed]

You guys all wish you could sing like Sam Smith. You hate him cause you ain't him.

oh hell nah, way too effeminate.

I can appreciate shit like this, & I can sing like this too:

 

[SenÖr Whìteßel+]

I always thought that


sounded like



is it just me?

 

[Viva]

I could fart into a mic plugged into a beat up PA and it would still sound more raw than Sam Smith.

 

[RoadKing Custom]

I could fart into a mic plugged into a beat up PA and it would still sound more raw than Sam Smith.

Yeah, but to be fair that's more of a reflection of your life style choices then how Sam Smith sings.

 

[bandicoot]

haha yupp, Viva's right.


Dream Theater's one of my favorite bands but fuck man, LaBrie can sing like a bitch too at times.

I mean, the guy is gay. What do you want/expect?

 

[Real_Magi]

The composition is basically identical, but I wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't been brought up.

BTW, Tom Petty has never been a good vocalist and Sam Smith has an amazing voice. Talent wise, there isn't any comparison.

I'm not a fan of either, but Sam Smith can sing.

 

[bandicoot]

The composition is basically identical, but I wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't been brought up.

BTW, Tom Petty has never been a good vocalist and Sam Smith has an amazing voice. Talent wise, there isn't any comparison.

I'm not a fan of either, but Sam Smith can sing.

Just because Tom Petty can't hit high notes, doesn't mean he's not a good vocalist. He is known for his live performances sounding very close to album like, and if you know anything about playing music/singing, you'd know how difficult that is to attain.

Level of vocalist is much more complex than who would do well in singing competitions.

Secondly, Sam Smith is paying Petty from now until forever because he ripped his song off.

Petty>Smith foreva eva