Roman_____Holiday t1_jdsweuh wrote
Reply to comment by PyrrhoTheSkeptic in TIL Australian band, Men At Work were sued over their song "Down Under" for similarities to an Australian nursery rhyme "Kookaburra". by El-Hairy
The difference between inspired by and ripping off is thinner than anyone likes to admit. Almost all music written is derivative, truly original music is honored and admired specifically because it defies that standard. It is horrible that artists that create original work are set upon by over-zealous content owners and their lawyers but it is worth mentioning that digital music and the widely available technology for sampling has made "legit" infringement super easy and so likely super common.
PrismosPickleJar t1_jdszr0z wrote
gwaydms t1_jdtqdsu wrote
John Lennon said as much when talking about some of ELO's songs (particularly Mister Kingdom, which borrows a few bars from Across the Universe). He grinned and said something like "Let's not talk about all the stuff I've nicked."
pohatu771 t1_jdtqzhl wrote
He had very famously been sued (and lost) over Come Together. Part of the settlement was recording some Chuck Berry songs, which ultimately became the Rock and Roll album.
(I’m not sure how he was the one in court when Come Together, like everything else, was a Lennon-McCartney credit.)
pineappleshnapps t1_jdun34o wrote
They credited both, even when one wrote the song from what I remember. Maybe he knew more about how it was written.
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