Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Coincidence or theft? Rise of music streaming can make it hard to judge

Coincidence or theft? Rise of music streaming can make it hard to judge

Analysis: plagiarism row between Ed Sheeran and Sami Chokri is latest in surge of lawsuits against musicians
They may only be two words, but they are worth tens of millions of pounds. The ascending one-bar phrase “Oh I” from Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You became the focus of a plagiarism row that threw into question the very art of songwriting itself.

Over the course of an 11-day trial, Sheeran and his co-writers, John McDaid and Steve McCutcheon, faced accusations that they had ripped off the 2015 song Oh Why by the grime singer Sami Chokri and songwriter Ross O’Donoghue.

Central to Sheeran’s defence was his argument that the segment in question was “a basic minor pentatonic pattern”, which is “entirely commonplace”. The superstar even took the stand to hum musical scales from Blackstreet’s No Diggity and Nina Simone’s classic Feeling Good to demonstrate how common the melody of Shape of You was.

The argument convinced Justice Zacaroli, who ruled that Sheeran had “neither deliberately or subconsciously” ripped off Chokri’s song. But the case showed how difficult it is to differentiate between coincidence, inspiration and theft, especially when our music consumption has changed with the evolution of streaming.

In an age of YouTube and Spotify, how do we know if one artist heard another artist’s song, especially if they are relatively unknown, or if they both had the same idea?

“The judgment is an emphatic vindication of the creative genius of Ed, Johnny and Steve,” said Sheeran’s lawyers on Wednesday. “As they have always maintained, they created Shape of You together, without copying from anyone else.”

But the debate over copyright infringement in pop continues to rage, as a surge of lawsuits against some of the world’s biggest pop stars are brought to court.

The most significant, experts agree, was the 2018 lawsuit in which Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were found guilty of copying “the feel” of Marvin Gaye’s song Got to Give It Up and ordered to pay $5m (£3.8m) to Gaye’s family and future royalties.

“The kind of borrowing that was at the heart of the Blurred Lines case has generally not been found to be a copyright violation in the past,” said Dr Tim Hughes, a senior lecturer in music at the University of West London.

“Blurred Lines is an example of what might be called a pastiche: a song consciously written in the style of another. Musical history is full of examples of that practice (although generally not so blatant). But the publicity and the damages awarded in that case were so extreme that it has clearly helped encourage further lawsuits.”

Other recent litigations include two against Dua Lipa over her song Levitating, one against Katy Perry over her song Dark Horse, and one against Taylor Swift over her 2014 hit Shake It Off by two songwriters who claim she lifted their phrases.

Sheeran himself settled a $20m plagiarism lawsuit for his song Photograph in 2017, after he was accused of copying former X Factor winner Matt Cardle’s Amazing.

Olivia Rodrigo added two members of Paramore to the writing credits of her hit single Good 4 U, after fans noted similarities to Paramore’s Misery Business. She’s also been accused of copying the riff from Elvis Costello’s Pump It Up in her song Brutal.

But as Costello noted when he came to her defence, this is part and parcel of the process of making music. “It’s how rock & roll works,” he said. “You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did.”

According to Joe Bennett, a forensic musicologist at Berklee College Of Music in the US, “opportunistic plaintiffs” are exploiting a common musical error that listeners can make, which is to assume that plagiarism is the only explanation for one melody being slightly similar to another.

“There are 60,000 songs uploaded to Spotify every day, with more than 82m recordings in the catalogue,” Bennett said.

“Right now, we’re in an era of mainstream pop where a lot of songs are based on two- and four-bar chord loops … So once in a while a short coincidental similarity occurs, and the plaintiffs are so struck by the similarity that they believe the only explanation must be plagiarism. They are often mistaken.”
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
×