Sam pays writing credits royalties to Tom Petty for SWM
Quote:
Upon the release of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” in April 2014, a number of listeners were quick to note the distinct resemblance to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1989 classic “I Won’t Back Down”. As it turns out, Petty’s lawyers also took notice, and the UK crooner has since agreed to pay songwriting royalties.
According to The Sun, Smith and Petty actually settled out of court back in October, but details only emerged just this weekend. The settlement reportedly included a 12.5% writing credit to both Petty and singer-composer Jeff Lynne (of ELO fame).
Quote:
A source close to the copyright case told The Sun, “When Sam’s track was originally released, it was clear to a lot of musicians that there were notable similarities between the tracks.” This refers to the nearly identical chorus and vocal melodies. To Sam’s credit, he didn’t even try to pretend innocence.
“After it was pointed out to Sam’s camp, they didn’t try to fight it and amicably dished out royalties. It wasn’t a deliberate thing, musicians are just inspired by other artists and Sam and his team were quick to hold up their hand when it was officially flagged.”
To those who can't hear the similarity, "Well I won't back down, no I won't back down" is the same melody as "Won't you stay with me, cuz you're all I need".
Very classy of Sam. I highly doubt he intentionally copied the song or anything, it just happened to come out sounding similar.
