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Hey That Sounds Familiar!



Have you ever listened to a song and suddenly you think i've heard this before? You're not the only one, the world is full of copy cats that try to sneak around the rules. Copy right is defined as "the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same." Now when we think about copyright we have to take into account what fair use is and how it works. Fair Use is defined as "The doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder."

Music has always played a big role in my life the old and the new. A classic song from the 80's called I Want a New Drug written by Huey Lewis is a song I wasn't quite familiar with. However, a song I've loved for a long time is the theme song from the hit movie Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. So why do I bring up these two hit songs from the 80's? Because Huey Lewis slammed Colombia Pictures and Ray Parker Jr with a copyright infringement lawsuit for the obvious similarities between the two songs. Ghostbusters came in at #68 on the billboard charts despite the similarities between the songs. Then quickly became #1 and stayed at that spot for three weeks with popularity in the United Kingdom as well. Shortly after the plagiarism contract was settled with a large check and a confidentiality contract was signed Lewis went to an interview 'Behind the Music'. Now get this Huey discussed the similarity and copying of the two songs. Breaking the terms of the confidentiality contract which of course Parker then sued Lewis. Just give the two songs a listen side by side and maybe you'll understand what all the suing is about.

 

Sticking to the 80's I want to bring up another hit classic, Super Freak by Rick James. The song was written and produced by Rick James in 1981. It was ranked by the Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  This was one of my favorite songs growing up as my mom had it on a CD that we listened to in the car often. So when you're hanging out with your friends and the song starts that familiar beat. Instead of them jamming out to the hit classic they say 'Can't Touch This' because of the unmistakable similarity to MC Hammer's 90's hit. Nine years after Super Freak was released Can't Touch This was on the charts and the beat gave you that sense of deja vu. Soon enough James sued Hammer for infringement of copyright. The lawsuit was settled when Hammer agreed to give James credit as a songwriter. 


There's so many times when i'm listening to a song and realize hey I've heard this before. This classic hits are just a few examples of what happens when artist don't get proper permission to use the beat or a certain lyric. Rappers these days often ask the artist if they can wrap over a beat the other has already used to avoid copy right issues.

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