Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne to Get Royalties from Sam Smith

[Pop1655]

 

[Pop1655]

I'm an old guy and old guys have to stick together.
Anytime I see a couple of old guys getting mailbox money I have to cheer.

 

[Iron Blimp]

Petty should give half of his share to George Harrison's estate.

 

[HardCore Troubadour]

word is that Tom and Jeff held Sam over a balcony by his ankles and forced the deal....

but that is just the word....

 

[FUS44]

Perhaps these cases don't get publicized, are settled out of court or are just not pursued they way they used to be, but I'm shocked that more artists aren't sued for this. I hear this so much with just a quick turn of the radio dial.

The waters are further muddied by hip/hop and pop borrowing, sometimes quite liberally, from existing tunes. I've seen some pretty long and contrived songwriting credits, so I imagine it's in everyone's best interest to settle quietly and keep that register ringin'.

However, I have to laugh at some of the inferences (in general) made by older artists regarding younger artists. Like they need to sit at home for 5 years and make sure that anything they write doesn't infringe on some 40 year old chestnut, when a lot of these guys made their living 'appropriating' rather blatantly.

 

[LPMarshall Hack]

Jimmy Page stole all my songs...but you don't hear me bitchin.

 

[JeffBlue]

"Won't you stay with me......"
"No, I won't back down........"

Royalties Rock!

 

[67mike]

Scary to me, as most songs created are similar to some that have come before.

 

[Ed B]

As a business guy, who has been around the block once or twice, I can say, I don't believe in coincidences. There is no way these new kids on the block coughed up 12.5% of this tune just for sh*ts and giggles. They new they were busted and rolled. If I made a successful business and someone who had nothing to do with it showed up at my door, asking for 12.5% of my hard, honest earned money...I'd be reaching for my shotgun, not my checkbook.

I agree. I thought there's no way he didn't know the song. To just agree seems fishy. I know there are lawyers in both ears but to not fight because you "might" lose seems odd.

 

[45WinMag]

My sweet lord. Is this what music has come to?

 

[Tone deaf]

Is law of attraction true? I was listening to tom petty then I saw this thread! This happened couple of times.

I was just going over this with my daughter (4th grade) last night, helping her prep for a test:

Opposite charges or polarizations attract. Similar charges and polarization repel one another.

For example, take two "maganets" (I like playing games with linguistics) and the + and - sides will attract each other, while the two similar (++) or (--) repel each other.

I overcame the urge to say, well mom is a +... and I guess so am I.

 

[Freddy G]

I didn't read the whole thread so my apologies if this has already been pointed out.

When I listened to the Sam Smith tune, sure the chords and melody for the "stay with me" chorus are the same for the first half...but what I was waiting for as the clincher to my decision was whether the cadence was the same in the next part...the third line where TP goes to a C major instead of the G.

Sam Smith doesn't do that so I say this is nowhere near the same song.

 

[Brians Evil Twin]

My sweet lord. Is this what music has come to?

He's so fine. For calling his lawyer.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWMvCXdsG4[/ame]

The only thing that Petty/Lyne can claim is having enough legal & industry firepower to get a settlement.

If the song was stolen from your average working musician, they would have had a good laugh.

It's all about money and power, nothing more.

 

[Guitarhack]

So here's a statement Petty gave to "Billboard" regarding the Sam Smith song.

"About the Sam Smith thing…"

Tom Petty has addressed the recent news that he and his Traveling Wilburys bandmate Jeff Lynne received songwriting credit on Sam Smith's hit "Stay With Me." In a statement to Billboard, the rock legend praises Smith for quickly addressing what he calls a "musical accident" -- i.e., the similarities between "Stay" and his hit "I Wont' Back Down."

"Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by," he says. "Sam's people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement. "

Petty also strongly denies the scattered reports that the songwriting snafu ever inspired legal action. "The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention," he says. "And no more was to be said about it. How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself."

Petty's full statement is below:

About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam. All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam's people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement. The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it. How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career. Peace and love to all.

As previously reported, Petty's team noticed similarities between "Stay With Me" and "I Won't Back Down" and reached out to Smith's representatives. Seemingly without drama, the young Brit granted Petty and Lynne, of Electric Light Orchestra fame, credit for writing the track. Smith's rep earlier told Billboard: "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."

Again, I do love Petty and Lynne, but I find his statement "The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention." a bit disingenuous. If a lawsuit was never intended then why bring up the issue? I'm pretty sure if Smith's people told Petty to "F Off" there would have been a suit filed immediately. I guess he's probably trying to put the least negative spin on this as possible but..... I'm not buying the no lawsuit statement.

 

[waboe]

It is not inconceivable for a 22yo growing up in the UK to have never heard a Tom petty song I'm 33 and only heard American Girl because of Silence of the Lambs, I'd have told him to piss off!

 

[LPSGME]

Watching the Grammy's.

Miranda Lambert sang her song "Little Red Dragon"
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfRHYA2Spsw[/ame]

Anyone think the chorus hook [at 37 seconds] sounds like:
"Hey Little Girl"
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA8tUUrSTIw[/ame]

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

all men who sing in high wimpy falsetto should be sued,...and locked in a small room with Phil Anselmo.

 

[WaywerdSon]

I was too busy watching her move to pay any attention at all to whatever shlocky POS song she was singing, but my god that girl is hawt!!!!!!

 

[Guitarhack]

all men who sing in high wimpy falsetto should be sued,...and locked in a small room with Phil Anselmo.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNdBLBleO90[/ame]

Roy wouldn't qualify because there's nothing wimpy about his falsetto.

 

[Death Incarnate]

So do Petty & Lynne get to share the Grammy for Song of the Year and Record of the Year?