The number of lawsuits filed for copyright reasons in the music industry is higher than expected.
Famous British singer and composer Ed Sheeran has recently been on the agenda with plagiarism accusations.
In England, the Supreme Court ruled in Sheeran’s favour, but many musicians are not as fortunate.
We take a look back at the music world’s most talked about copyright lawsuits.
WHAT DID ED SHEERAN DO?
Grime (electronic music genre) musician named Sami Chokri sued Sheeran for allegedly stealing the lyrics to ‘Oh I’ from his 2015 song Oh Why.
Chokri claimed that Sheeran borrowed the words “Oh I”, which he frequently used in the song “Shape of You”, which became the world’s best-selling song in 2017 and was listened to 3 billion times on Spotify.
When a musician is accused of plagiarism in the music world, experienced musicologists carefully examine the structure of the pieces in question and try to find similarities.
Music experts remained undecided in the Chokri-Sheeran case. Judge Antony Zacaroli ruled that Sheeran deliberately or knowingly did not use the parts of the song ‘Oh Why’.
CAN A SONG BE COPY UNKNOWN?
The songs are composed by using musical notes in various combinations, and so the similarities can occur by chance.
However, in some cases, legal action can be initiated against these songs.
SAM SMITH AND TOM PETTY
The chorus of British musician Sam Smith’s 2015 song “Stay With Me” came up with similarities to Tom Petty’s song “I Won’t Back Down”.
The 1989 song is thought to be one of the most famous songs by US musician Tom Petty.
The two musicians settled out of court, and Petty was awarded the copyright for the song “Stay with Me.”
Smith admitted that he had never heard “I Won’t Back Down” before, but that there were “incidental similarities” between the two songs.
LANA DEL REY, RADIOHEAD AND CREEP SONG
The song “Creep”, released in 1992, is one of the best-known songs by the English rock band Radiohead. But this song on everyone’s lips is also known for two different copyright lawsuits.
In 2018, US singer Lana Del Rey shared on social media that Radiohead had sued her for taking a part of the song “Creep”.
The song in question was the 2017 track “Get Free” by Lana Del Rey.
Del Rey later said that the musicians had reached an agreement out of court.
No changes were made about the copyright of Get Free.
On the other hand, Radiohead was accused in 1993 of using part of the 1972 song The Air That I Breathe by the British band The Hollies in Creep.
The Hollies musicians Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood were given the title of co-wrote for the song Creep.
THE BEATLES SONGS
In 1969, The Beatles were sued by US music publisher Morris Levy.
Levy claimed that the Beatles’ song “Come Together” used a quote from musician Chuck Berry’s 1956 song “You Can’t Catch Me”.
The song, co-produced by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, was defended in court by Lennon.
The similarities between George Harrison’s 1970 song “My Sweet Lord” and The Chiffons’ song “He’s So Fine” became the subject of discussion. In 1976, it was stated by a court order that Harrison had unwittingly quoted the song.
BLURRED LINES
Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ 2012 song “Blurred Lines” was one of the most streamed songs of the last decade.
However, the family of American soul singer Marvin Gaye filed a lawsuit over the allegations that the musicians quoted Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up”.
The court ordered Thicke and Williams to pay $5 million in damages to the Gaye family.
VANILLA ICE, QUEEN AND BOWIE
Queen and David Bowie, one of the most famous names in the British rock music scene, sued US rap artist Vanilla Ice over the content of the song “Ice Ice Baby”.
The 1990 song “Ice Ice Baby” was claimed to be the same bass melody as Queen and Bowie’s song “Under Pressure”.
The parties reached an agreement out of court. Queen and Bowie were awarded unspecified compensation and royalties.
LED ZEPPELIN-STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
Led Zeppelin’s 1971 song “Stairway to Heaven” is among the best-known songs in the history of pop music.
However, the famous song was accused in 2014 of “borrowing” the opening theme of a 1968 instrumental song by the US band Spirit.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2016 and lasted for about 4 years, was concluded in 2020 in favor of Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin was also sued for allegedly quoting various blues songs before.
