Musicology

In the days following the Katy Perry Dark Horse verdict, my news feed was packed with articles about what a bad omen it was; how it sent chills down composer’s and songwriter’s spines and would hinder creativity. It would also herald an era of frivolous lawsuits where little known artists would shakedown successful artists into …

This is the third Musicologize article on the subject. Here, links to the previous two. A year ago, when it became evident this wasn’t going to settle. Tried to cover everything that would likely matter. Mid-trial, Occam’s Razor style: The core truth in just three minutes — how Dark Horse’s ‘beat’ is actually made of …

Lil Nas X was having a banner week. Old Town Road just tied the record for most weeks at #1. Today we learn he’s is being sued for 25 million for another track, “Carry On.” This is going to be fascinating not because there’s any question that Lil Nas X’s “Carry On” is full of …

As an old friend of mine used to put it, “don’t hurt yourself looking for a more elaborate explanation for something when a simpler explanationone will do.” Katy Perry is in court as I’m typing this, defending her hit Dark Horse against an infringement claim by the creators of Joyful Noise, and against what I …

Hot take: Maybe they did, but not from David Henderson and friends. Today we learn that 5 Seconds of Summer, the Australians who gave us the hit song “Youngblood” last year, are being sued by David Henderson, David Toth and Peter Ferencz because the opening melody lines of Youngblood are very similar to the melody …

Everybody knows Led Zeppelin was/is getting sued by Spirit over “Stairway To Heaven.” And almost everybody knows Ed Sheeran is getting sued (what else is new?) by Ed Townsend over Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” which Townsend co-wrote. I’ve covered both cases quite a bit, here and here, and actually if you wanna …

In the comedy world, jokes are sacred. If you tell another comic’s joke and fail to give attribution, woe unto you. Accused joke thieves get slaughtered — Carlos Mencia and Amy Schumer spring immediately to mind. But what if an irony is just out there and observable by more than one comic? Maybe it’s coincidence? …

As you may have guessed, a new lawsuit says she did. Heidi Merrill is suing Underwood, saying that NBC’s Sunday Night Football theme song, “Game On,” is a ripoff of Merrill’s own, “Game On” which she’d written a year or so earlier. Moreover the complaint includes that she met Mark Bright, Underwood’s producer, at an …

Headlines broke out earlier this week about Stairway To Heaven going back to court. Those headlines have people confused. So, here’s what’s really happening and what’s likely, according to me, to happen next.  For those of you in a hurry I’ll make these few main predictions: There will not be a whole new trial. Zeppelin’s …

These guys have real names. Artem Stoliarov is suing Christopher Comstock. (he’s Marshmello.)  The complaint, filed last week, says Marshmello’s huge hit song, “Happier,” infringes upon Arty’s remix of “I Lived,” by One Republic. So, why isn’t One Republic suing since I Lived is their song? It’s because the claimed infringement is of a melody …