How many characteristics of a song can be reproduced in a new one without infringement? Is copying a song’s title and key (e.g. D major) enough?
How many characteristics of a song can be reproduced in a new one without infringement? Is copying a song’s title and key (e.g. D major) enough?
It’s actually an involved legal question. There’s been lots and lots of court cases over whether a song just samples a bit from another one, or is similar to another one, or if it’s copied.
I remember the one over Blurred Lines (which, unrelatedly, I can’t believe flew in 2013) got a lot of media attention.
Under Ice Ice Pressure Baby
But theirs goes “dun dun dun diggy dun dun… dun dun dun diggy dun dun” OURS goes “dun dun dun diggy dun dun DUN dun dun dun diggy dun dun” Totally different.
Lil Nas X used a sample from Nine Inch Nails for Old Town Road and didn’t get it cleared prior to it becoming a success. Reznor decided to clear it, though.
The Verve used a sample from an orchestral version of a Rolling Stones song and the Stones got all the royalties from 1997-2019.
TBF it was looped through the whole song as the main sound. They probably should have seen some kind of trouble coming.