Music plagiarism

Tom Petty / Sam Smith
I Won't Back Down / Stay With Me

Over the weekend, The Sun reported that Sam Smith had quietly and amicably settled a copyright dispute with Tom Petty over the likeness between Smith's three-time Grammy-nominated "Stay With Me" and Petty's Full Moon Fever hit "I Won't Back Down," co-written with ELO's Jeff Lynne. In a statement to Rolling Stone, Smith's reps have confirmed that "Stay With Me" is now co-credited to Petty and Lynne, adding that while there are undeniable "similarities" between the two singles, it was a "complete coincidence."

"Recently the publishers for the song 'I Won't Back Down,' written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, contacted the publishers for 'Stay With Me,' written by Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips, about similarities heard in the melodies of the choruses of the two compositions," Smith's rep tells Rolling Stone. "Not previously familiar with the 1989 Petty/Lynne song, the writers of 'Stay With Me' listened to 'I Won’t Back Down' and acknowledged the similarity."

Smith's rep added, "Although the likeness was a complete coincidence, all involved came to an immediate and amicable agreement in which Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are now credited as co-writers of 'Stay With Me' along with Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips."

A representative for Petty was not immediately available for comment.

On the ASCAP site, where songwriter information is collated and frequently updated, Petty and Lynne are now listed among the "Stay With Me" team of Smith, Napier and Phillips. It's unclear whether Petty and Lynne were retroactively compensated for their songwriting credit or if they'll receive future earnings on the track.

Man, I can kind of hear similarities, but that is a long shot. I don't hear plagiarism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-5XG-DbAA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlTJrNJ5lA

and then a stab at the comparison...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkcZV97O3pw

Dude! I was going through all of the Music section just now, looking for where to put the news about Tom Petty and this story in it! Stop reading my mind! It's scary. May I suggest we change the title to Music Plagiarism to differentiate from the Art Plagiarism thread?

(hee hee)

Music Plagiarism. Art Plagiarism. It's all the same

Honestly, I don't know how ANYONE can write a song, I know in theory that you should have an insane amount of variety with the 88 keys, but still, I've never been able to think of a new melody.

It's easy! Just do what Sam Smith did. 

This ruling will have repercussions all throughout the industry.  For example, the Black Eyed Peas will be put to death.