Musicology

Two songs that sound a lot alike. Is it copying or coincidence? Anyone remember a Seinfeld episode in which Elaine and a visiting character, Zara, argued about whether some coincidences are bigger than others, or all coincidences just 100% coincidences? If you agree with Elaine, that there are degrees of coincidences, which is about perception …

This popped yesterday and it took a few hours for me to spot it, so I dont have a thoughtful take on it yet. But give me a few more hours and I’ll get after it. I can’t wait, really. I can give a not so thoughtful take right now though, and it’s that at …

It’s so funny. The other day, Ed Sheeran “slammed copyright lawsuits” because as you probably know, he had just suffered through a miserable one in which he was characterized as a serial plagiarist. A fantastically thorough and thoughtful judgment cleared Shape of You — the outcome predicted here. But the amusing part: After the wave …

There has been a lot going on lately. As I’m writing this, Ed Sheehan is the defendant in not one, but two lawsuits. Dua Lipa is also presently a defendant in not one, but two lawsuits. And today, we’re looking at Sam Smith and Normani’s 2019 hit, “Dancing With A Stranger,” because a songwriter named …

Ed Sheeran is in court this week because his megahit “Shape Of You” bears some similarity to Sami Chokri’s “Oh Why.” And you’re saying to yourself, “That guy gets sued a lot, doesn’t he?” Ed Sheeran might get sued more than any musician in the world today. This isn’t even the only litigation he’s got …

Not in any way that matters, it isn’t. And by the way, this has got to be some sort of record. Just a few days after Dua Lipa was sued because the chorus from her monster hit “Levitating” sounds quite a bit like an Artikal Sound System track, “Live Your Life,” she finds herself sued …

When a song as big as Levitating gets sued for infringement, it’s news, and everyone has an opinion. I have one too. But rather than just tell you my opinion, how about I take you through a thought process and let you formulate your own? With that… A reggae band called Artikal Sound System has …

This is a repost from a few years ago, but the case was just refiled, March 3, 2022, so I’m putting it back among the current posts. There could be some new information. We’ll try to stay on top of it, but this is where we left it in 2019. It was an interesting situation. …

Forensic Musicologist Brian McBrearty’s Deep Dive on “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get It On.” We’ll do the short version first, then go into the more esoteric and pedantic aspects of the most high-profile and interesting case out there. “Let’s Get It On” versus “Thinking Out Loud” follows a series of other high-profile cases said …

Apple and other streaming services were accused of “willful” piracy or of something akin to looking the other way while piracy took place on their platforms. And that’s dumb. But we might consider the question, “should they be made example of anyway? And to whose benefit?” The case concerns some of the greatest songs ever …