Tom Petty wins songwriting royalties, but does it make sense?

Currently trending is an article about Tom Petty winning songwriting royalties against a contemporary artist named "Sam Smith." The song called "Stay with me" which I obviously hadn't heard until now. With a constant loop of rock music and facts circulating through my head at all times; I am definitely bias when it comes to being able to hear rock influence in new songs. So I just had to hear this song to see if I heard it too, which I assumed I would.

Sam Smith "Stay with me"

Tom Petty "I wont back down"

Only after listening to certain parts of Sam Smith's song several times do I hear any similarities. The beat is similar, but slowed down throughout the song. It feels like a stretch to call this a straight reference to Tom Petty's tune. I think this is getting carried away. And I'll tell ya why.

The song’s credit on ASCAP — that’s the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers —now lists Smith, Petty, Lynne, and Jimmy Napes as the chief songwriters.

So because the song sounds similar, you now get to put your name in the song writing credits? Let's get real for a sec, if we're going to do that for every song that sounds like another we're back dated on a LOT of music. I can literally list all the songs that are much more clearly ripping off/referencing a popular song that people seemed to have little or no problem with:

Green Day "Warning" The Kinks "Picture Book"
KD Lang "Constant Craving" Rolling Stones "Anybody seen my baby"
One Direction "Best song ever" The Who "Baby O'Reilly"
Lady Gaga "Alejandro" Ace of Base "Don't turn around"
Robin Thicke "Blurred lines" Marvin Gaye "Got to give it up"
Most rap songs that sample old rock music
Ice ice baby, anyone?
We could be here all day.

Songs sounding like other songs is nothing new, classic rock songs are no exception. I'm starting to wonder if this is more of a case of Tom Petty having some pretty damn good lawyers who saw an opportunity. This is knit picking. This is completely coincidental and pretty damn subjective. What do you think?

Comments

We need to talk about this: The Foo Fighters are "AIDS denialists"

Preface: I am a fan of the Foo Fighters' music, so this isn't intended to be a hit piece. I genuinely feel troubled by what I'm about to share with you in this blog entry. I had no idea about this until just days ago. Recently I saw a video that addressed celebrities with controversial beliefs. The one that stood out to me was Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters being "AIDS denialists" (which I didn't even know was a thing?) aka "HIV Truthers". I immediately had to look into this because it sounded just too crazy to be real (and you should ALWAYS be skeptical of things you hear and do. your. research.) An article that I felt was very thorough on the topic was " Foo Fighters, HIV Deniers " "Maggiore’s message has apparently penetrated the minds of at least some Foo aficionados. She says she has heard from many Foo fans since the show — one of whom, she says, now works at the Alive and Well office. “AIDS is a toxic disease caused...

The album art of Tommy by Mike McInnerney

People often ask me what my favorite album is. Without much thought I am able to answer them. The Who's 1969 album "Tommy" is my favorite record of all time. The album artwork also happens to be my favorite. Recently I was thinking about the album and how it affected me in my life. I decided to look up the Tommy album art and was surprised that I was unable to find any of it. I could find the cover, but never all the album art inside. The Tommy CD comes with a booklet with lyrics and a series of different illustrations. But they weren't on the internet. So this blog will be changing that! I just took out my CD booklet and scanned all the artwork. There are two versions of the cover, one featuring small images of their faces inserted into the gaps in the central sphere. The other is just the original work. Executives at The Who's record label insisted on having the band members pictured on the cover, so that's why there are two covers. Pete Tow...

Revealing Ramones interview by Randi Marx

One of my long time internet friends and not to mention Ramones and rock and roll fan Randi Marx once shared with me questionnaires she got filled out by the Ramones. I remmebered reading them and finding them very funny and informative. Especially being a Joey Ramone fan, I found his particularly funny and interesting...and different from the other guys. My friend was nice enough to re-scan the original questionnaires and write about her experience meeting The Ramones. She originally had this posted on her site ArcaneHarvest.com but when I recalled how much I liked them she sent them my way. Please do not use the images without permission. They aren't mine, and I got permission to use them. Just had to put that out there! "I ﬁrst saw the Ramones with The Runaways. I can't remember the exact year. Seems like it was 1978 or 79. I saw them in Atlanta. It was so exciting, and I knew they would be my favorite band, along...

Fiberglass Jacket