Archive for the ‘litigated’ Category

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Chrissy vs. Ke$ha

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Back in March 2011 local unsigned artist Chrissy filed a copyright infringement case against Ke$ha and the Dr. Luke camp for the similarity of  Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” (2009) and her track “My Slushy” (2007) .  After the release of  “Tik Tok” many Chrissy fans instantly pointed out the similarities of the two. Many of them have noted that Ke$ha’s overall vocal style, lyrics and image were borrowed from Chrissy.

“My Slushy” gained wide notoriety in the hit  online Japanese game  “Audition” back in 2006.  Music site Vlaze has also had Slushy up on their site since March 31, 2007.

According to The Hollywood Reporter Gottwald has also been known to fight back with  counter defamation suits when an artist cries foul. “My Slushy” is currently being put to the test in the justice system.  While we await a verdict here’s a sample of verses from both tracks:

While we await the verdict have a listen to some excerpts below:

Ke$ha – “Tik Tok” (2009)
Chrissy – “My Slushy” (2007)

See More appearances of Ke$ha on ThatSongSoundsLike here.

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Posted in litigated, Music | 7 Comments »

Avril Lavigne vs. The Rubinoos

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Here’s another Lukasz Gottwald (aka Dr. Luke) produced track for the site. This time for the 2007 Avril Lavigne song “Girlfriend”.   The chorus similarity did not go unnoticed by seventies power pop band The Rubinoos whose 1979 single “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” shares a striking resemblance.  In 2007 Rubinoos frontman Tommy Dunbar  and co-writer James Gangwer filed suit in U.S. District Court in Northern California against Lavigne,  Dr. Luke, RCA Records and Apple Inc.

“We are not so naive as to chalk it up to some sort of cosmic coincidence,” Dunbar said in a statement on Thursday. “The lyric, the meter, the rhythm … they’re identical.”

More about the lawsuit here: Avril Lavigne Responds To Lawsuit, Says She’s Been ‘Falsely Accused’ on MTV.com

According to PopCrunch.com the case was settled out of court in 2008.

Avril Lavigne has reached a settlement in a lawsuit that accused her of plagiarizing her hit single, “Girlfriend.”

Avril Lavigne “Girlfriend” Lawsuit Settlement; Rubinoos Avril Lavigne at PopCrunch.com

I’d also like to note that The Ramones have a song called “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” released in 1976.   It doesn’t sound like either of these.

While we’re here I might as well include the audio samples from the Green Day vs. Blink-182 post for the similarity in the guitar riff.

Avril Lavigne – “Girlfriend” (2007)
The Rubinoos – “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” (1979)

vs. Green Day vs. Blink-182

Blink-182 – “What’s My Age Again?” (1999)
Green Day – “Basket Case” (1993)

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Posted in litigated, Music | 6 Comments »

Keith Jarrett vs. Steely Dan

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

Submitted by Christopher

When Steely Dan‘s “Gaucho” was released on 1980 Keith Jarrett sued Donald Fagen and Walter Becker for using the main theme of  ”Long As You Know You’re Living Yours” (1974) without  giving him credit.   Fagen and Becker both claimed that Living Yours inspired the track and they were fans. Jarrett has since been added to the credits. Have a listen:

 Steely Dan – “Gaucho”  (1980)
Keith Jarrett – “Long As You Know You’re Living Yours”  (1974)

Posted in litigated, Music, User Submission | 5 Comments »

Leona Lewis vs. Avicii

Friday, August 5th, 2011

Thanks to George for tipping me off to this bit of news.

X Factor superstar Leona Lewis is being taken to court by Swedish Ministry of Sound DJ Avicii (Tim Bergling) for supposedly using his track “Fade Into Darkness” (aka “Penguin”) without permission in her latest single “Collide”.

According to the UK paper The Sun, Ministry of Sound Records is claiming that Lewis is blatantly ripping off the song with ‘Collide.’ The label’s operators have asked that execs at Simon Cowell‘s Syco, to which Lewis is signed, to yank the track from radio. They want to ban the song from being officially released, as well.
- PopCrush.com

The Guardian reported today that the High Court will hear a plea from the dance producer on Monday for an injunction against the release of the X Factor winner’s song, which is due out on September 4.
- DailyMail.CO.UK 8/5/2011

 

Leona Lewis – “Collide”  (2011)
Avicii – “Fade into Darkness” (aka “Penguin”)  (2011)
5th August 2011

Posted in litigated, Music, News, User Submission | 2 Comments »

Zombie Nation vs. Lazy Jones

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Submitted by Kim

I love the video game submissions that come in.  You’ve probably heard Zombie Nation‘s “Kernkraft 400″  (2000)  in one remixed form or another but did you realize the synth riff was lifted right from a 1984 Commodore 64 game called “Lazy Jones“?  In addition to the sound clip below, you really need to see the game clip here on youtube to get the full effect. According to this NME article from 2000 ”Mr Zombie, aka Splank, has had to pay an undisclosed amount to David Whittaker, the programmer who wrote the original.”

Lazy Jones – “Stardust” (1984)
Zombie Nation – “Kernkraft 400″ (2000)


Posted in litigated, Music, User Submission | 2 Comments »

Madonna vs. Public Enemy

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

According to Songfacts.com Public Enemy decided not to sue Madonna for sampling “Security of the First World” (1988) in her 1990 controversial song and video “Justify My Love”.  According to Wikipedia additional controversy surrounded the track as well:

“Justify My Love” was written by Lenny Kravitz, Ingrid Chavez and Madonna. Kravitz wrote the song for Madonna, based on a poem written by friend and Prince protégé Ingrid Chavez. Kravitz added the title hook and chorus. Madonna contributed a few lines. Chavez was not credited for the song and later sued Kravitz in 1992. She received an out-of-court settlement, and gained a co-writing credit.

Public Enemy – “Security of the First World” (1988)
Madonna – “Justify My Love” (1990)

Posted in litigated, Music | No Comments »

Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Diana Vickers

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Zac just informed me that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are considering suing Britain’s X Factor finalists Diana Vickers for this similar hook in her 2010 song “My Wicked Heart”. Vickers even admits to it!

“That happened without even knowing! We had the song and it didn’t have the ‘My Wicked Heart’ bit in it and then we put the vocal in and we were like, ‘Why does it sound so familiar?’.”
“Then we realised it was because we were listening to ‘Under The Bridge’ the day before! We were saying, ‘Should we change it? Should we not? What should we do?’. Sod it, no, we’re just gonna keep it, it works, it’s the way it is.”

“That happened without even knowing! We had the song and it didn’t have the ‘My Wicked Heart’ bit in it and then we put the vocal in and we were like, ‘Why does it sound so familiar?’.”

“Then we realised it was because we were listening to ‘Under The Bridge’ the day before! We were saying, ‘Should we change it? Should we not? What should we do?’. Sod it, no, we’re just gonna keep it, it works, it’s the way it is.”  - digitalspy.com

Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Under the Bridge” (1991)
Diana Vickers – “My Wicked Heart” (2010)

Posted in litigated, User Submission | 2 Comments »

Men at Work vs. Marion Sinclair

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

My friend Mike just brought this to my attention via an AP news report.

I’m not sure I even agree with these similarities but the judge has ruled. Australian rock band Men at Work has plagiarized the Australian nursery rhyme ”Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree“.

SYDNEY (AP) – A judge ordered Australian band Men at Work on Tuesday to hand over a portion of the royalties from their 1980s hit “Down Under,” after previously ruling its distinctive flute riff was copied from a children’s campfire song. . . “Kookaburra” was written more than 70 years ago by Australian teacher Marion Sinclair for a Girl Guides competition, and the song about the native Australian bird has been a favorite around campfires from New Zealand to Canada…

The following “Kookaburra” recording is from this collection of nursey ryhmes.

“Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree” (1934)
Men at Work – “Down Under”  (1981)

Posted in litigated, Music | 18 Comments »

Black Eyed Peas vs. Phoenix Phenom

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Patrick just sent me this article from ChicagoBreakingNews.com

Apprently the Black Eyed Peas are being sued by Songwriter Manny Mohr and singer Ebony Batts (aka Phoenix Phenom) for the similarity of their song “Boom Dynamite” (2008) and the Black Eyed Peas hit “Boom Boom Pow” (2009);

” ‘Boom Boom Pow,’ as a whole, is substantially similar to ‘Boom Dynamite,’ and the hook portions of both songs are so strikingly similar that there can be no other reasonable explanation but that the Black Eyed Peas copied plaintiffs’ song,” the suit states.

Mohr and Batts note that they released “Boom Dynamite” in January 2008 and posted a video to YouTube around the same time. They then submitted the song to Interscope Records, the Peas’ record label, as part of a package intended to get band member Stacy Ann Ferguson, also known as Fergie, to sing on a track with Batts.

Chicago Breaking News Center

The Huffington Post also reports that the,  ”lawsuit, filed this week, seeks damages from each of the Peas individually, as well as from Interscope and Universal Music Group. They are also asking for a share of the profits and future songwriting credit.

Here are a few snippets from both tracks:

Phoenix Phenom – “Boom Dynamite” (2008)
Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow” (2009)

I made these clips because the chorus breaks in both song are both using an auto-tune/vocoder type of effect:

Phoenix Phenom – “Boom Dynamite” (2008)
Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow” (2009)

Posted in litigated, Music, User Submission | 6 Comments »

Kelly Osbourne vs. Visage

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Submitted by Steven

Kelly Osbourne‘s 2005 new wave style single “One Word” caused a bit of controversy resulting in  an out of court settlement with the group Visage for their 1980 hit “Fade to Grey”. They even both feature French female spoken word over some of the music!

Kelly Osbourne- “One Word” (2005)
Visage – “Fade to Grey” (1980)

“French Intros”

Kelly Osbourne- “One Word” (2005)
Visage – “Fade to Grey” (1980)

Posted in litigated, Music, User Submission | 3 Comments »

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