FEATURE:
Shape of You, deja vu: In Their Own Write…
IN THIS PHOTO: Ed Sheeran
The Ongoing Issue of Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement in Music
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IT is a tricky subject…
IN THIS PHOTO: Olivia Rodrigo
when it comes to copyright and potential plagiarism in music. I think back to the 1980s and 1990s when Hip-Hop was in its golden age. The number of samples that artists used then was staggering! A lot of these were used without permissions. Sometimes, there were court cases and claims of copyright infringement or violation. It seemed like a time when artists had a bit more freedom and flexibility in that sense. One could argue they were reckless and taking risks. It is important that, if an artist wants to use a sample of sound from another, that they seek permission. It is expensive for artists to clear songs and samples – this impacts creativity and is a bit of a problem that needs to be addressed. There is another thing that has been prevalent in music for years. As there are so many artists now and more songs in the world than ever before, it is obvious that there will be occasions when some songs bear resemblance to others. Often, a lot of the lawsuits are made against bigger artists. Those who are potentially making a bigger profit from a hit song. I can understand why artists who feel that artist has taken from them feel aggrieved. Katy Perry was accused of plagiarism in 2014; she won her copyright claim in 2020 regarding Dark Horse and its similarities to another track. I want to come to two modern-day British Pop sensations who are in the news because of copyright claims.
Before that, there is a U.S. teen superstar, Olivia Rodrigo, who released one of the best debut albums of the past decade with 2021’s SOUR. There were various claims that some of the songs bore resemblance to other tracks or there were hooks and parts that were very familiar. As this feature from PAPER back in October states, Rodrigo has addressed copyright and plagiarism claims:
“Olivia Rodrigo is speaking out against the plagiarism accusations surrounding her work.
For the past few months, the hitmaker has faced an onslaught of criticism tied to her interpolation of everything from Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" riff on "brutal" to Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer" on "déjà vu." Most notably though, Rodrigo was taken to task for her use of the melody from Paramore's "Misery Business" in her No.1 song "good 4 u," even though she eventually amended the songwriting credits to include the band, as well as the credits for "déjà vu," which currently lists Swift, St. Vincent's Annie Clark and producer Jack Antonoff as contributors.
Unfortunately, the accusations are still a hot topic on social media, with many continuing to bring up the Paramore example as proof. Now though, Rodrigo has finally broken her silence on the issue by telling Teen Vogue that "nothing in music is ever new."
"There's four chords in every song. That's the fun part — trying to make that your own," she said, after telling writer P. Claire Dodson that music is "sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process," as "every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them."
"What's so beautiful about music is that it can be so inspired by music that's come out in the past," Rodrigo said, adding that "writing songs about how I feel has always been easy and fun." But even so, the star also admitted that she's had a "harder time learning" how to handle the business side of stardom, which sometimes makes it hard to remember how much she loves songwriting.
"I've been sort of growing through that this year.... [But] I feel lucky I get to do that and be a songwriter and a performer for a living," she said, before appearing to allude to the plagiarism controversy, saying, "At the end of the day, I feel it doesn't have too much to do with me."
However, Rodrigo said the allegations were still "disappointing" to her, since she believed people were taking "things out of context" in an effort to "discredit any young woman's work." And in a similar vein, she also called out the way young women in the industry are disproportionately pressured into having a spotless reputation
After all, as Rodrigo explained, "It's really toxic for young girls to open their Snapchat app and see the articles about young women who are just sharing their art and existing in the world, and watching them being torn apart for doing absolutely nothing."
Nevertheless, she went on to add that she's still "just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter" as she reiterated that "all music is inspired by each other."
"Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first," Rodrigo said. "I came up with the lyrics and the melody for 'good 4 u' one morning in the shower”.
I do think that there needs to be guidelines and limitations when it comes to legal cases. It seems that a lot of the claims and cases are brought about on the flimsiest of evidence! The successful cases of the likes of Perry and Rodrigo not only show how there needs to be definition and stronger evidence to bring about lawsuits. It can also be damaging and tiring for the artists accused. That is not to say that those who bring about cases are in the wrong. I wonder whether new laws need to be drawn. I guess it is not the same thing, but I love sampling as it allows a new song to nod to the past and draw together different sounds and genres. It is harder for artists now to write truly original songs. Especially when it comes to big artists who might have others writing and producing with them. You do get occasions whether, intentionally or not, one song has elements of another. Dua Lipa is a major artist whose 2020 album, Future Nostalgia, is among the best of that year. Recently, she has faced two copyright/plagiarism claims regarding her song, Levitating. The Guardian explains more:
“Dua Lipa is facing a second copyright lawsuit over her song Levitating, less than a week after a Florida reggae band sued the singer for alleged plagiarism, Billboard reports.
Songwriters L Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer allege that the opening melody to the hit single, the longest-running Top 10 song ever by a female artist on the US Billboard Hot 100, is a “duplicate” of the melody to their 1979 song Wiggle and Giggle All Night and their 1980 song Don Diablo.
“Defendants have levitated away plaintiffs’ intellectual property,” lawyers for Brown and Linzer wrote in a wry complaint. “Plaintiffs bring suit so that defendants cannot wiggle out of their wilful infringement.”
The songwriters highlighted interviews with Lipa, in which they said she “admitted that she deliberately emulated prior eras” and “took inspiration” from historic music for the “retro” sound of her 2020 album, Future Nostalgia.
Their lawsuit claims that the “signature melody” from the introduction to Levitating copied a similar portion of their songs, and cited the popularity of that section of Levitating on TikTok as key to its success.
“Because video creators frequently truncate the already brief snippets of sound on TikTok, the signature melody often comprises 50% or more of these viral videos.”
The suit named Lipa, her label Warner Music Group and rapper DaBaby, who appeared on a remix of the song, along with other songwriting and production parties. “In seeking nostalgic inspiration, defendants copied plaintiffs’ creation without attribution,” Brown and Linzer claimed.
Last week, Lipa was sued by the Florida band Artikal Sound System, who claimed that Levitating was so similar to their 2017 song Live Your Life that it was “highly unlikely that Levitating was created independently”.
It is especially bad luck for Lipa. Not that it will damage her career, but it will be interesting to see what happens with the cases. If she loses, a large amount of money will be handed to those accusing her. It may be the case she has to add songwriting credits to Levitating. You do wonder whether there is more evidence in this particular case. I cannot see a judge ruling against her, though you never know. It is a blow that she does not need at the moment. Another huge artist, Ed Sheeran, is embroiled in legal troubles. The BBC report how Sheeran is being accused or borrowing ideas from unknown songwriters and using them in his songs. Shape of You is a track that has come under the spotlight for the wrong reasons:
“Ed Sheeran has told the High Court he does not "borrow" ideas from unknown songwriters without credit.
The singer-songwriter has been accused by two other songwriters of copying parts of his 2017 hit Shape Of You.
Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue's barrister suggested Sheeran treated lesser-known songwriters differently from famous ones.
Sheeran denied this, telling the court he had cleared parts of songs with "lots" of unknown artists.
Shape of You was number one for 14 weeks in the UK in 2017, becoming the best-selling song of the year around the world.
Chokri and O'Donoghue claim the song's "Oh I" hook is "strikingly similar" to part of their track Oh Why, which was released by Chokri under the name Sami Switch in 2015.
On Friday, their barrister Andrew Sutcliffe QC claimed Sheeran "borrows ideas and throws them into his songs, sometimes he will acknowledge it but sometimes he won't".
But Sheeran denied the claim that he is a "magpie" who lifts other people's work without acknowledgment, pointing out that he has often shared credit with lesser-known artists, including Shivers and Visiting Hours, and a song that sampled an "unknown composer's" work from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
"All those examples are not famous artists that we've cleared songs with and that's what I have to say on that," he told the court.
Sheeran created Shape of You with co-writers Steve Mac - real name Steven McCutcheon - and Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, both of whom were also in court.
After its release, Sheeran added the team behind TLC's 1999 single No Scrubs to the song's writing credits after some commentators pointed out similarities.
On Monday, Mr Sutcliffe told the star: "The evidence is overwhelming that at the time of writing Shape of You, your songwriting process involved collecting ideas."
Sheeran replied: "You say it's overwhelming, I don't agree with that."
'Completely fair'
In written evidence, the singer said the contested element of Shape of You was "very short", and the relevant parts of both songs were "entirely commonplace".
He said: "Even so, if I had heard Oh Why at the time and had referenced it, I would have taken steps to clear it."
He added: "I have always tried to be completely fair in crediting anyone who makes any contribution to any song I write.
"I do refer to other works on occasion when I write, as do many songwriters. If there is a reference to another work, I notify my team so that steps can be taken to obtain clearance.
"I have been as scrupulous as I possibly can and have even given credits to people who I believe may have been no more than a mere influence for a songwriting element. This is because I want to treat other songwriters fairly”.
This is an issue that will intensify. I feel, as more and more cases come about, we will see other artists taken to court. These copyright claims are most likely going to be brought about against major acts. I wonder whether the motive behind the accusers is financial gain more than protecting their own work – how many artists away from the mainstream have been sued!? In any case, it is only fair that songwriters take to task any other artist they feel has lifted their track or taken from them. In many cases, there is no deliberate intent of theft. It does appear that there is a very fine line, and many of the cases are finding in favour of the defendants. I am not sure what will happen for Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa, but it will spark discussion around plagiarism and ethics. As I said, there will always be accidental similarities and, as so many tracks are coming out, inevitably one will detect similarities in various tracks! These court cases can be truncated and very expensive. People who bring about cases ask for ludicrous amount of money as compensation (rather than songwriting credit) that seems disproportionate in relation to the amount of money the song has made. Also, court cases are draining and can be very harmful to accused artists that are innocent of copyright issues. And, as I said, there are co-writers and producers that are culpable, but it is the artist themselves that get the flak. To me, there must be a better way…
PHOTO CREDIT: PA Media
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