Pitbull & Ke$ha vs. Lee Oskar

pitbull-lee-oskar

This one just came across my desk. Apparently Lee Oskar never authorized the use of his”San Francisco Bay” harmonica melody in Pitbull’s “Timber”. It looks like this particular case below deals specifically with international use.

Pitbull ft. Ke$ha - "Timber" (2013)
Lee Oskar - "San Francisco Bay" (1978)

Some press on the issue:

On June 25, 2014, it was reported that songwriters Lee Oskar, Keri Oskar, and Greg Errico had filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the makers of “Timber”, which features a harmonica melody that Oskar claims is “identical” to the melody used in his 1978 song “San Francisco Bay”. The songwriters are seeking $3 million USD in damages. The lawsuit alleges that while Sony Music may have obtained permission to use the sample, which is credited in the album notes for Meltdown, from a license holder, the label failed to obtain permission from the songwriters themselves.
wikipedia

Here is some legal talk:

In copyright infringement action arising out of international release of song “Timber” by performing artists Pitbull and Kesha, district court dismisses claims against Sony Music Entertainment, which obtained license from co-owner of allegedly infringed work, but denies motion to dismiss claims that Sony’s foreign affiliates infringed plaintiffs’ work under foreign law.

Plaintiffs, the co-authors of “San Francisco Bay,” a 1978 song performed by Lee Oskar Levitin featuring a distinctive harmonica riff, sued Sony Music Entertainment and other domestic entities, as well as Sony’s foreign affiliates, for domestic and foreign copyright infringement following the international release of the song “Timber” by rapper Pitbull and pop star Kesha. Plaintiffs alleged that the song contains the same harmonica solo and melody as “San Francisco Bay” and that the “Timber” harmonica player was, in fact, specifically instructed to emulate Levitin’s harmonica riff. Plaintiffs also alleged that the domestic defendants made the song “available” to the foreign defendants, which, in turn, released “Timber” in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Canada, Australia, France and South Korea. All defendants moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim, and the foreign defendants also moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and on the basis of forum non conveniens. The court granted dismissal of only the claims against the U.S. defendants.
– Levitin v. Sony Music Entertainment – USDC, Southern District of New York, April 22, 2015

 

Take note guys. It takes SIXTEEN (16) people to write a song these days.  Here is what is listed on Wikipedia. Lee Oskar is on there although I don’t know if that is official. But wait… look who else is on there:

Kesha Sebert
Armando C. Pérez
Lukasz Gottwald <<<< This Guy
Aaron Davis Arnold
Priscilla Hamilton
Jamie Sanderson
Breyan Stanley Isaac
Henry Walter
Pebe Sebert
Lee Oskar
Keri Oskar
Greg Errico
Steve Arrington
Charles Carter
Waung Hankerson
Roger Parker

More Kesha

Flo Rida vs. Katy Perry vs. Kesha

Kesha vs. Flo Rida vs. Taio Cruz

Kesha vs. Alphaville

Ke$ha vs. The Residents

Chrissy vs. Ke$ha

More Pitbull

Pitbull vs. Aerosmith and Run DMC

Katy Perry vs. Sara Bareilles

Submitted by Mike D.

sara bareilles vs. katy perry on ThatSongSoundsLike.com

It’s been too long since posting about a Dr. Luke produced song so here we are. Check out Katy Perry‘s recently released track “Roar” and Sara Bareilles track “Brave”.  Even the lyrics are pretty similar. Since Jack Antonoff from the band Fun co-wrote “Brave” I’m going to add “We Are Young” (2011) here as well since you can hear the clear inspiration.

Katy Perry - "Roar" (August, 2013)
Sara Bareilles - "Brave" (April, 2013)
fun. - "We Are Young (Chorus)" (2011)

For more Katy Perry, Dr. Luke and Fun tracks see the following:

Katy Perry vs. The Beach Boys

Katy Perry vs. t.A.T.u.

Katy Perry vs. Kesha

Katy Perry vs. Lenny Kravitz

Katy Perry vs. Erasure

Katy Perry vs. Kesha vs. Miley Cyrus vs. Justice

Dr. Luke produced tracks on ThatSongSoundsLike

fun. vs. Sesame Street

fun vs. Thompson Twins? vs. Queen? vs. Erasure? vs. ?? (POPULAR!)

fun. vs. 4 Non Blondes

fun. vs. Paul Simon

Kesha vs. Flo Rida vs. Taio Cruz

Kesha "Die Young" (2012) vs. Flo Rida "Good Feeling" (2011) on ThatSongSoundsLike.com

L to R: Ke$ha sneering, Dr. Luke wearing prop headphones for a photo shoot, Flo Rida looking off into the distance.

Submitted by Michael

Dr. Luke is at it again. This time he’s recycling his own tracks. Have a listen to the guitar hooks in Kesha‘s “Die Young” (2012) and Flo Rida‘s “Good Feeling” (2011). The chord progressions are not identical but similar enough especially with the production tricks.

(Both produced by Dr. Luke)

Flo Rida - "Good Feeling" (2011)

Ke$ha - "Die Young" (2012)

Update: 1/10/2013

Taio Cruz vs. Kesha vs. Flo Rida on ThatSongSoundsLike.com
One of many photos of Taio Cruz putting on (or taking off) his shades. I’m going to guess he’s just holding his hand there for like 20 minutes.


Josh points out the similarity of Taio Cruz‘ party jam “Dynamite” (2010) . I might’ve just said “good find” or “awesome!” but you know what? This is also produced by Dr. Luke! I know your secrets Dr. Luke and I’m going to write a hit song in 2013.
You just watch me 🙂

Taio Cruz - "Dynamite" (2010)