• Grah1
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  • From: Cold and rainy Settle UK
  • Registered: 2011-05-12
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Topic: Ed Sheeran plagiarism?

I see  on  MSN today   Ed  Sheeran  is  getting  sued  for alleged  plagiarism for his  song Photograph . Its  so  difficult   to  come  up  with  original rhythms ,phrases ,progressions  etc .There  are  bound  to  be  similarities in songs  .Unless  it  is  a direct  copy word  for  word  note  for  note  ,what  is  the problem .How many  blues  songs  use  the  same  progression  ,what  about  the  rock  and  roll  songs  that  use  the  blues progressions  but  faster  Is  this  plagiarism .I  think  we  have  all   been subject   to  plagiarism   at  some  time  or  other  be  it  in  our  daily  work  or hobbies etc  I  know  I  have .I'll  not  give  specifics  but back in  the  day  when I  raced  slot cars  I  adapted  an electronic principle to  make  a universal  controller details  of  which  were published  in  a hobby  magazine  some  years  later  the  same  thing  reappeared as a revolutionary idea  by  a  certain manufacturer .Now  I  know  I adapted  the  idea  but I  never  claimed  to  invent  it .I  put  it  down to  research  turning up  something .However  and  more  to  the  point  of  blatant plagiarism, I  submitted a script to  a popular  UK  TV soap which  was  rejected but  about  six months down the  line  certain aspects  of  my  script  appeared  in the program .I'm  not  in a  position   to  fight   a  case in court   as  I  cant  afford  to  take  on  the  big  corporations nor  can I  prove  that  the similarities both  in  my  invention  or  my  script  came about   by  plagiarism  or chance .What  I'm pointing  out  is what  might  at  first   glance  may  appear   to  be  plagiarism  may  turn out   to  be chance ,after all imitation  must be  the  sincerest  form of  flattery or there  wouldn't be so many " tribute"   acts  about .

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  • From: NY
  • Registered: 2009-08-26
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Re: Ed Sheeran plagiarism?

Here's the article from Rolling Stone - along with the recorded versions of both songs: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ … m-20160608

IMHO - they are different songs.  Yeah, the have a similar sound. They aren't telling the same story.  The hook isn't the same.  They just have similar sounds and phrasing.  I don't consider that plagiarism.  Then again, I'm not a lawyer.

My Little Pony.  I remember when I was little and I was sooooo into those toys and shows on TV.  I remember having  a "bright idea" that they should make Unicorn and Pegasus and maybe even Pega-Corns!  They did.  I remember (at the ripe old age of 7) thinking that I should have sent them a letter to suggest it so they'd send me money or free toys when they used my idea.  LOL!  Yeah, that would be a suggestion not a stolen idea, but what did I know?  Moral of the story?  Sometimes, I think it's adults with the mentality of a 7 year old that think up lawsuits.  Sadly, they sometimes win too and it's their fault there are so many laws and regulations that really shouldn't have to be in place.  Sigh...

Now, if it were one of my (few) songs, I would appreciate (and expect) being credited with the "sound" as an inspiration.  I probably would be upset if i thought they stole a sound I had created (even if they totally changed the words).  So, I get it.  But honestly, if they just credited my sound as the inspiration I'd be happy - because they've CHANGED it to be a different song entirely.  Again, I don't consider this plagiarism. It's not a stolen song through and through. That said, it certainly COULD have been an original idea on both sides that just happened to have the same sound.  There are MORE than a few songs out there in the world with a similar sound, chord progression, phrasing, etc. 

"What  I'm pointing  out  is what  might  at  first   glance  may  appear   to  be  plagiarism  may  turn out   to  be chance ,after all imitation  must be  the  sincerest  form of  flattery or there  wouldn't be so many " tribute"   acts  about ."  AGREED GRAHAM!

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

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  • From: Probably Somewhere
  • Registered: 2010-12-09
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Re: Ed Sheeran plagiarism?

this is a good read
https://www.buzzfeed.com/reggieugwu/wha … pxGNQn8k6j

excerpts:
"Substantial similarity is a question of whether or not the average listener can tell that one song has been copied from the other. This is the “ordinary observer test,” what Fakler calls “the hallmark of copyright infringement.” The more elements two works have in common, the more likely they are to be ruled substantially similar. Proving substantial similarity in music cases is complicated by the fact that all songs carry two kinds of copyright, for composition and sound recording, that have to be evaluated independently."

"Scènes à faire. If a musical element is very common, like certain chord progressions in blues music, for instance, it falls under what’s called scènes à faire, French for “scenes that must be done,” and can be used without a license. In many cases, the defendant’s lawyers will try to prove that the plaintiff’s work is commonplace and/or didn’t originate with the plaintiff, and that restricting its use would be harmful to the artistic community. This is what Thicke was trying to prove with his witness-stand medley. In the words of his attorney: “No one owns a genre or a groove.”"

4 Reply by dino48 (edited by dino48 2016-06-10 17:35:20)

  • dino48
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Re: Ed Sheeran plagiarism?

George Harrison got sued for My sweet lord as the song sounded like The Shrelles He's so fine. The Chords are the same. It cost him a million dollars.Thanks Russell for correcting me.

my papy said son your going too drive me too drinking if you dont stop driving that   Hot  Rod  Lincoln!! Cmdr cody and his lost planet airman
  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
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Re: Ed Sheeran plagiarism?

dino48 wrote:

George Harrison got sued for Here comes the Sun as the song sounded like The Shrelles He's so fine. The Chords are the same. It cost him a million dollars.

I thought that was My Sweet lord he was sued for, here comes the sun is totally different and sounds nothing like He's so fine.

"Growing old is not for sissies"

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