Musicology

First things first, the Kraftwerk case was initiated in Germany twenty years ago and decided recently by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Copyright laws vary in some ways from place to place, but behind intellectual property laws are philosophical principles that evolve. And especially philosophical decisions like this one move discussions along …

In the days following the Katy Perry Dark Horse verdict, my newsfeed was packed with articles about what a bad omen it was; how it sent chills down composers’ and songwriters’ spines and would hinder creativity. Also, that it would herald an era of frivolous lawsuits where little-known artists would shakedown successful artists into nuisance …

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 …

“Entities should not be multiplied without necessity!!” That’s Occam’s Razor. Or, as an old friend of mine used to lazily put it, “don’t hurt yourself looking for a more elaborate explanation when a simpler one will do.” This really will only take three minutes. Katy Perry is in court as I’m typing this, defending her …

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 …