You know that Coldplay song, Viva la Vida? My favorite musician--Joe Satriani--is suing Coldplay for plagiarizing it. It's funny because most of you know Coldplay and have never heard of Joe Satriani. I've own pretty much everything in Satriani's catalogue, including the song in question If I Could Fly. I honestly don't think I had even heard the Coldplay song until I saw a youtube video accusing them of copying it.
Joe says he wants to preserve the integrity of his art, and protect something he holds dear. He tried every alternative to a lawsuit, but Coldplay didn't want to talk about it. After the lawsuit was filed, Coldplay decided to say something. Here is their public statement:
"With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations. If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him. Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song Viva La Vida. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours. Coldplay."
I think the suit will either end in a settlement or Joe will win. The songs are just too similar. Joe is a musical mastermind. He would not have brought the suit if he didn't think he would win it. Did Coldplay really copy Joe's song? I don't know. Youtube is full of videos arguing the point back and forth.
Here's what's really weird. Earlier this year, some unknown band posted a video accusing Coldplay of stealing Viva la Vida from them. Their video immediately smelled like a hoax to me (don't ask me what a hoax smells like). It just seemed like that band was trying to get their moment of fame by pretending to have written a hit song. The court basically agreed with me as their suit was thrown out for a failure to prove their allegations. Anyway, here are some videos:
Music Theory Analysis
(Part Two)
Song Samples
A Lawyer and Musicologist Weigh In
2 years ago
4 comments:
Just a few extra thoughts to throw at you. Lots of songs have the same chord progressions, but you can't copyright a chord progression. There has to be more to it. Also, some people have asserted that Joe Satriani has no case against Coldplay because his song sounds just like earlier songs by other artists. But that won't affect this lawsuit. If those other artists think Joe copied them, they will have to bring their own suits.
This was interesting to look into. Thanks for the links to the videos. Definitely an interesting question, and one that is very difficult to prove. But it does seem like Joe has a strong case.
Very interesting indeed. Let us know how this works out.
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