BROADCASTS.com

In the last few years music copyright claims have skyrocketed. More and more artists are giving songwriting credits away. Frequently, credits are given retroactively to avoid the cost of long jury trials like when Sam Smith credited Tom Petty. Smith\u2019s melody for \u201cStay With Me\u201d clearly drew from Petty\u2019s \u201cI Won\u2019t Back Down.\u201d On rare occasions these cases go to court, where music litigation is at an all time high. In the last ten years there have been 190 public cases, up over 350% from the prior decade, according to The George Washington University & Columbia Law School Music Copyright Infringement Resource.\n\nThis story has come in and out of the news cycle in closely watched jury trials including artists like Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin, and Katie Perry. Historically, courts have extended copyright to only unique combinations of words and music, not rhythms, chords, instruments. But recent cases increasingly litigate the core building blocks of music. Many artists fear that a bad court outcome could let an artist copyright a \u201cvibe\u201d using commonly used musical language.\xa0\xa0\n\nThe question of whether someone can borrow a vibe resurfaced when Olivia Rodrigo shared songwriting credits on her hit 2021 album Sour with Taylor Swift, and comparisons have been made to the art of Courtney Love and music of Elvis Costello. Many listeners have commented on Rodrigo\u2019s more obvious influences on social media. Viral TikTok videos compared Rodrigo\u2019s \u201cGood 4 U\u201d to Paramore\u2019s \u201cMisery Business,\u201d which share a common chord progression and vibe. This online campaign likely contributed to Rodrigo handing songwriting credits, also known as publishing, to Hayley Williams and Josh Farro of the band Paramore.\xa0\n\nThis week we are airing the conversation Switched On Pop\u2019s Charlie Harding had on the podcast Decoder with host Nilay Patel who is also editor and chief of The Verge. Together we try to understand how the byzantine music copyright system works, and how its rules affect the sound of pop music today and in the future.\xa0\n\nSONGS DISCUSSED - Spotify Playlist\n\nSam Smith - Stay With Me\n\nTom Petty - I Won\u2019t Back Down\xa0\n\nM.I.A. - Paper Planes\n\nThe Clash - Straight To Hell\n\nOlivia Rodrigo - deja vu\n\nTaylor Swift - Cruel Summer\n\nOlivia Rodrigo - good 4 u\n\nParamore - Misery Business\n\nRobin Thick, T.I., Pharrell Williams - Blurred Lines\n\nMarvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up\n\nKaty Perry, Juicy J - Dark Horse\n\nFLAME , Lecrae, John Reilly - Joyful Noise\n\nLed Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven\n\nSpirit - Taurus\n\nMichael Bolton - Love Is a Wonderful Thing\n\nThe Isley Brothers - Love Is A Wonderful Thing\n\nTaylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do\n\nRight Said Fred - I\u2019m Too Sexy\n\nDoja Cat, SZA - Kiss Me More\n\nOlivia Newton-John - Physical\n\nAnne-Marie - 2002\n\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices