I heard these songs had a similar melody, but never noticed it 100% until this video. I feel damn silly too, cause I enjoy both artists. Cheers and thanks for the video!
PianoManChuck, kudos to you. Sam Smith's people when approached by Tom Petty's people agreed with the similarities and gave Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne credit and 12.5% royalty stake. Nice find!
Thanks for dropping knowledge and some history of the Tom Petty song! I was born in 86 so I never heard this. Even when I listen to the older radio stations. Love Sam Smith. But credit where credits due to Tom pretty
Detroit public radio (WDET) host Ann Delisi did a special "soundalike" show in honor of this tune and the Grammy show. Tom Petty has been copied many times and he and Sam settled out of court. Tom is apparently really nice about such matters.
OMG!! Well done sir!! I truly hear it when you break it down like that! ALL this time I could not quite hear it!!! THANK YOU!!! Both great songs - Tom Petty is legendary however - May he RIP
first time I listened to "Sam's" new song, I imediately recognized it was stolen. Took me about 2 mins to recognize and remember it was Tom Petty's, and I am not big fan of Tom Petty. Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's...
Robbie Parker your point of view is ridiculous. First of all, you didn't understand my sentence, I was defending the point that all merits belong to Tom Petty and I like his Music, but I am not a big fan of him. Secondly... If you believe that only being a fan of Petty qualifies you for taste of music solely, it reflects your incredible narrow mind.
No again you are still completely wrong. I did not say being a fan of Tom Petty on its own makes you a fan of real music. I said if you don't recognize that Tom Petty is a real artist and Sam Smith is not, then you are not a fan of real music. Again, your point of view means nothing.
Robbie Parker that's not what you said in first instance, and I recognize Petty is a real artist all the time, so your whole argument makes no point at all... go find yourself and sort your thoughts.
PatagonianWarrior Twist reality to suit yourself why don't you lol What I said originally 1 If you are not a fan of Petty, you are not a fan of real music. What I said in response 2 I did not say being a fan of Tom Petty on its own makes you a fan of real music. Anyone with an above 65 IQ can see that Sam Smith isn't real music. Disliking Petty and preferring Smith exposes one as having no taste in real music. But any fan of real music can prefer a real musician over Petty. You just can't go around preferring a fake musician to Petty and then go around acting like you are a real fan of music.
I love the 'what music per say should be''? It makes me listen it brings me to musicians Iv never heard off playing these tunes there way....there's quite a few on TH-cam that should be famous this is why or what has led us here and too many more. I have started on the bbc live lounge....where did u?? 💜 big loves hugs to all
I'm 27 and listen to classic rock all the time and I love love love listening to Tom Petty and immediately when I heard this on the radio station that it was Tom Petty's rip off.
"About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam," Petty wrote. "All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam's people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement. "The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it," Petty continued. "How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career. Peace and love to all." The writers of Stay With Me acknowledged they have never heard I Won't Back Down before, and they immediately listened to it and agreed on the similarity and they worked out the agreement. Not their fault.
whether inadvertent or not, it's definitely too similar to be considered random. The only people saying Sam Smith's song doesn't have any similarity probably dont have any music experience
I'm like you, when I first heard this song, I was like, I know I've heard this before. It wasn't til someone mentioned "Won't Back Down" and I said, of course.
As soon as I heard it, I knew I would have recognized the similarity at once, it's so strong to me. But then, few people were as into Tom Petty as I was for SO many years. I still think he and the Heartbreakers are monster talented.
PianoManChuck , you are 100 percent right . the beats on the song may seems tricky but the melody is exactly alike . So for those people out there that gets confused on situations like this , it's the similarity of the melody on the song that makes the case , it doesn't matter if one song has slow beat and the other has fast beat and also it doesn't matter if the two songs is being played with different keys , It's the melody that makes the case . What about Robin Thicke Blurred Lines VS Marvin Gaye Got To Give It Up , the similarity is the sound and the melody of the drums . Can you please do a forensic on this one . LOL
Here's where I found it. It's at the bottom of the page. I'm on a mobile it may look different on PC. But, it is the only place I've seen where Petty is credited. As far as any legal action Tom Petty can take, that's not my problem nor do I care.
Shannon Morrow Thanks for the link. That's a music lyric website... they're most likely crediting Tom Petty for the music to cover their ass so that they don't get sued.... but Sam Smith does not credit Tom Petty anywhere, and you're right... that's the only place where Petty's name actually showed up.
A lot of artists are taking credit for someone else's work; Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Avicii. People think the person on the cover did all the work. ASCAP legal credit for Stay... goes to Jeff Lynne & 3rd person down is Tom Petty. HOWEVER just like with Avicii people think Sam wrote this, people think Avicii can actually sing. Whatever. Personally, I wouldn't pay to see Avicii turn his computer on & wave his arms, Taylor autotuned to a backing track or Sam Smith slur in a British accent a boring song. But that's MY opinion. Media will tell us what our opinion should be, what we should play & like & we will - almost all - go along with it. www.ascap.com/Home/ace-title-search/index.aspx
In pop a lot of songs sound similar because of the sequence of chords, but you can’t say he committed plagiarism just for that part of the song. The lyrics which are the most dificult thing to do are súper different from Petty’s song , also the verses of the song , the chorus is similar to the verse of Tom but also has its own things in the melody that makes it original, the rythm and pace its different, and the voice of Sam is beautiful in comparison with Tom’s.
PianoManChuck. Great find. Now can you please listen to Sam Smiths newest hit I'm not the only one. The chorus sounds so so familiar but I can't place it. I've listen to so many 70-80s soft rack ballads because I know I've heard it somewhere. I can't find it maybe I'm wrong.
I do some song writing and yeah, it's a lot easier to find a song you really like, and change it up so hopefully no one recognizes that you formed your song directly from another. Right or wrong, I don't know. John Lennon once said, If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'.
This guy is famous because he's gay and stole a guys song. If that's all it takes to impress you then look out the window to the blue car parked on the side of the road.
Shannon Morrow Your research is flawed (what is your source?)... I researched it too, for about an hour before producing this video. "Stay with me" was written by Sam Smith and Jimmy Napier. Absolutely nowhere is there any credit listed, given, or even remotely implied that Tom Petty was involved in the making of the song... except that Tom Petty wrote the original music & chord progressions 25 years ago, only to be copied by Sam Smith and Jimmy Napier this year, without permission. Should Tom Petty decide to take legal action, he as an extremely strong case, while Sam Smith and Jimmy Napier's case is very weak at best (I suppose you didn't research the legal aspects of what would happen in a lawsuit if Petty pursues this case).
In the settlement of this frivolous claim, cry baby - Tom Petty was awarded with the title 'co-writer' - I don't think they sound a like at all... nobody owns notes... there are only 88 keys on the piano... who has the rights to them... this just boggles my mind...
I'm not really a big Sam Smith or Tom Petty fan. I do hear the similarity, but it's not that apparent to me. Perhaps b/c I don't play music it's not as easy to hear... idk... I must say though for Sam to have to pay royalties and writing credits on this song is pretty brutal. Especially when you consider that Ga Ga didn't have to pay Madonna for the Born This Way/ Express Yourself fiasco. Those songs sound A LOT alike. Oh well...
It's incredibly similar, but I don't believe it was on purpose. Sam Smith isn't a crook or a rip off, he just used an extremely similar chord progression that's almost exact. That happens so often where it's entirely unintentional. I have a friend who had the same thing happen because he used an extremely common chord progression that sounded exactly like another song... one he'd never heard before. Sam Smith made it right when Tom Petty made the similarities known, but there wasn't any explicit malicious intent on the former's part, obviously. It wasn't stolen, nor was it plagiarism. Even if he noticed the chord progression, which it's quite possible he did, I doubt he would think, "Oh, yeah, this is COMPLETELY Tom Petty's song" cause it's not. The chorus is simply exceedingly similar to parts of Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down.
I don't think its wrong for petty to get a cut of the song...i think 13% is a bit much, but he definitely shouldn't have his name on anything, or shouldn't be recognized for any of the production. Music is bound to cross path's no matter where you go, but these are way to similar. Chords is one thing, but when lyrics melodies have the same syncopation, its too much to ignore.
each generation copies the old generation. its how music evolves. nothing beats the 70-80 for a older guy like me. and nothing beats the 80-90 for the kids 10 years younger than me and so on and so on.... now kids are listening to stuff that I cant comprehend as music but this is the same thing i thought when i listened to music made in the 50's. Its like saying "hey i want credit because u used the guitar in your song... bullshit. Tom Petty is like in my top 5 musicians of all time. but this was a bitch move to cash in a little. let the new guy enjoy some of the good life without trying to take some of it away from him.. not a fan of his song, but that does not matter.
This is literally the same shit that went down between Gaga and Madonna. Two songs can sound similar thanks to the chords but they're completely different. I don't like Sam Smith but I think him paying royalties for a song that has the same chords is just ridiculous. Like someone else said, it's like saying RoboCop copied Terminator. There's no merit to it when there are millions of songs but only so many notes.
***** How does one trademark several chords in a row? I'm sure there were songs before Petty's that had those notes and there'll be ones after Smith's. I see what you're saying but I still think it's a bit much.
Mrimagayguy, this is more than copying a few chord progressions. This is blatant copying of a melody. You are right that no one can copyright chord progressions because everyone uses the standard ones and they have existed as long as music itself. It would be inaccurate to say that anyone "composed" a chord progression, and impossible to prove that one person thought it up, as most of them are ubiquitous. Which explains why Vanilla Ice were not found to be plagiaristic for "Ice Ice Baby" when it is blatantly copied from Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure". It's an obvious ripoff, because of the uniqueness of the opening riffs, but apparently just those were not enough to qualify as plagiarism. But not so with an entire melody. If the Chiffons could sue George Harrison over "My Sweet Lord" sounding too much like "He's so Fine", and win, this is more extensive a similarity.
***** Grammar? In some styles an exclaimed question is ended with an exclamation point. Ironically we're in a thread about petty.... and if you give me shit as to why I didn't capitalize petty, then God bless you.
Seems a little harsh for a few notes and not exactly Kelly Clarkson v Jimmy Eat World where there are whole swathes of similarities including the melody. Now that is what I call a cover by any other name but not this. For the record I am a music fan and not a Sam Smith fan and did know who he was until recently.
I don't know if 'interesting' is how I define plagiarism. How about, 'disgusting'? Much more appropriate. Sam Smith is a rip-off artist and should have thanked Tom Petty every time he stepped on stage to accept a Grammy. All you Smith lovers can hate, but you can't afford to be naive enough to think this was by accident. It was recorded in a studio, with professional sound engineers. If this guy on a piano figured it out, you think they didn't neither. So next year I'll just speed up a Beatles song and screw around with the pitch, add some sappy choir boy drivel instead of lyrics, and I'll win next year. Perfect!
The same thing happened to Mike Clarke the drummer, musicians & I use this term loosely were stealing his drum grooves on Rap & Mixed DJ crap & using them without his permission, I believe suing there ass off, as he should be. GO TOM these assholes should go write their own music & if they steal yours they should pay BIG TIME.
tom petty and jeff lynn are to get paid royalties and get writing credit for the similarities of the melody of 'Stay with me' even though the writers had never heard of 'wont back down', END OF !!!!
So what?? what's the significance? I've never understood all the fuss about this. You know how many thousands of artists there are that have written millions of songs, with only how many notes to work with?? (Only 88 on a standard piano) I'ts inevitable you are eventually going to find two songs that match up pretty close. And give me a break, the chords and melody's Tom petty used where so simple and basic, it's ridiculous. Take free falling, Petty sings a whopping three notes the whole song, F, G, and A. Even the chorus, he merely jumps up an octave... "And I'm Freeeeee" (F,G, A) "Free fa-lling" (A, G F). So does Petty now own the rights to every song that relies on F, G & A ? I have always been a HUGE Tom Petty fan, and still am, but I lost a lot respect for him when he jumped at the opportunity to take money out the pocket of a new artist like Sam Smith. Shame on you Tom Petty. smh
It's one thing to write simple tunes, another to be an amateur and rip someone else's work. Totally different when you each have teams of people looking to make a profit from someone else's work... without ANY permission.
Tom petty is suing Sam smith for royalties. all rap beats sound alike so why aren't rappers suing each other? tom petty does not need the money or does he? PRINCE is the king of copyright infringement law suits! Is Tom petty following in the footsteps of Prince? not too many artist care about Copyright infringement on You tube!
***** they didn't sue either. tom petty (rolling stone from petty's site): "the word lawsuit was never even said." and it's a 12% writing credit to petty and lynne. i doubt that amounts to 40% royalties..
I'm not positive about that number. I heard something the other day that he will get money from the song. He doesn't have to sue. They may have willfully offered Petty a fair sum. There's no way Smith didn't know what he was doing.
So annoyed by this argument. They share the same chords. The pitch is different, the tempo is different. The melodies change. It's so obnoxious to give Tom Petty, whom I love, credit for the Sam Smith song.
Definitely the same melody when compared side by side. Tom seems to chock it up as unintentional and Smith has agreed to paying royalties. Case closed.
Sams song is as much stolen, as jazz was from classical music. Changing up classical music to sound like jazz is as easy as changing the timing, tempo and the length of each note without needing to change the actual notes. Sam did not steal anything. These songs sound nothing alike. Simply using the same or similar sequence of notes in a short part of the song is not stealing. It's music. If the timing, tempo, length and pitch of each note/sequence in the verse/chorus was similar or exact, then yes it would be stealing. But it wasn't close, so its not stealing.
It's the same chords. Yea, so what? There are not that many original compositions out there. Everyone needs to realize this. The songs are the same but sound slightly different. Who gives a shit? If everyone decided to start suing each other over chords music would come to an end.
I'm blown away by people who don't understand the concept of intellectual property and insist things like this are "no big deal." You know what? I'll just write a movie called "Forest Gump" about a slow guy in Alabama who experiences world historical events first-hand. But, it's completely cool because the original is called "Forrest Gump" but mine will only be called "Forest Gump." I mean, the alphabet only has so many letters, right? Unreal.
Decadepast - If someone was making millions off of a song you wrote, you might be thinking differently. Anyway, it's way beyond "it's the same chords". Yes, a lot of songs have the same chord progression, but Stay With Me also has the exact same vocal melody over the chords. Who gives a shit you say? How about the people who wrote Won't Back Down, and then getting their music copied and sung by someone else, all while that new song is a top hit making millions. That's who gives a shit, and so would you if it was your song.
*****, I get what you're saying about people being touched by a song, but I don't know if you're familiar with intellectual property and why you just can't go around copying other people's work and making money off it yourself. My friend is a musician and one time we were hanging out and she started playing a melody that she said had "just" come to her. So, she started playing it and within about 20 seconds I told her, "Ummmm, yeah, the reason why that melody sounds so cool is because it's already proven to be catchy and someone has already made a lot of money off it!" She was playing the first four notes of the Crystals' song "Then He Kissed Me" over and over... just like they do in the song. Seriously, it's a matter of intellectual property - not a matter of a new audience being touched emotionally or not being familiar with the original song. It's a legal concept, pure and simple.
*****, with all due respect, I'm thinking it's safe to assume you're not someone who makes a living writing and performing songs for a living. I also think you wouldn't be saying music belongs to "all of humanity" if you were a musician who fed his family and put a roof over their heads with the money you made from YOUR songs. If I'm wrong, so be it. But, if I was a betting man, I'd put my money on you understanding the issue here a lot better from that perspective. That is, unless you're some great humanitarian who doesn't mind OTHER musicians feeding their kids or putting roofs over their heads with YOUR music.
*****, my point wasn't about struggles. It was about trying to understand it from a musician's perspective and hoping you'd then be able to appreciate why we have intellectual property laws and who they're designed to protect. If that point got lost, I have nothing else to try to sway you to seeing it from the proper, legal, and creatively just perspective.
Smith's song is about a guy who develops feelings after having casual sex while Petty's song is about standing up against oppression and sticking by what you believe in. Petty has had a far more successful and influential career than Smith and this song was a part of that great career. Trust me, Tom's was much better. Btw Tom isn't the one suing, it's the record label. He actually came out and said that he didn't care that the two songs shared the same melody.
I heard these songs had a similar melody, but never noticed it 100% until this video. I feel damn silly too, cause I enjoy both artists. Cheers and thanks for the video!
Neil Gallagher the ear worm gets us all.
PianoManChuck, kudos to you. Sam Smith's people when approached by Tom Petty's people agreed with the similarities and gave Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne credit and 12.5% royalty stake. Nice find!
THANK YOU SIR! I am showing this video to my dad who is a traveling musician
Dude I’ll be honest I couldn’t hear it until listening to your voice. I hear it. I get it now. Thanks
I love Tom Petty kind of all American music. It’s clean, wholesome and uplifting.
Thanks for dropping knowledge and some history of the Tom Petty song! I was born in 86 so I never heard this. Even when I listen to the older radio stations. Love Sam Smith. But credit where credits due to Tom pretty
You nailed it... I knew right away it was Tom Petty
You are not the only one that picked up on that! Noticed it right away!
Pamela MacDonald Never claimed to be :)
I think she's just saying that she noticed too.
Detroit public radio (WDET) host Ann Delisi did a special "soundalike" show in honor of this tune and the Grammy show. Tom Petty has been copied many times and he and Sam settled out of court. Tom is apparently really nice about such matters.
No mention of jeff lynne??? Tom petty`s cowriter and producer.who was in the video too.
OMG!! Well done sir!! I truly hear it when you break it down like that! ALL this time I could not quite hear it!!!
THANK YOU!!!
Both great songs - Tom Petty is legendary however - May he RIP
first time I listened to "Sam's" new song, I imediately recognized it was stolen. Took me about 2 mins to recognize and remember it was Tom Petty's, and I am not big fan of Tom Petty. Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's...
If you are not a fan of Petty, you are not a fan of real music. Your point of view means nothing.
Robbie Parker your point of view is ridiculous. First of all, you didn't understand my sentence, I was defending the point that all merits belong to Tom Petty and I like his Music, but I am not a big fan of him. Secondly... If you believe that only being a fan of Petty qualifies you for taste of music solely, it reflects your incredible narrow mind.
No again you are still completely wrong. I did not say being a fan of Tom Petty on its own makes you a fan of real music. I said if you don't recognize that Tom Petty is a real artist and Sam Smith is not, then you are not a fan of real music. Again, your point of view means nothing.
Robbie Parker that's not what you said in first instance, and I recognize Petty is a real artist all the time, so your whole argument makes no point at all... go find yourself and sort your thoughts.
PatagonianWarrior Twist reality to suit yourself why don't you lol
What I said originally
1 If you are not a fan of Petty, you are not a fan of real music.
What I said in response
2 I did not say being a fan of Tom Petty on its own makes you a fan of real music.
Anyone with an above 65 IQ can see that Sam Smith isn't real music. Disliking Petty and preferring Smith exposes one as having no taste in real music. But any fan of real music can prefer a real musician over Petty. You just can't go around preferring a fake musician to Petty and then go around acting like you are a real fan of music.
You hit the nail on the head, good job!! also I wish I can play by ear like you can. :)
I love the 'what music per say should be''? It makes me listen it brings me to musicians Iv never heard off playing these tunes there way....there's quite a few on TH-cam that should be famous this is why or what has led us here and too many more. I have started on the bbc live lounge....where did u?? 💜 big loves hugs to all
When writers get paid so much money, he/she needs to be original. Thats why they make a livlihood at it. Pay the people that came up with the melody.
I'm 27 and listen to classic rock all the time and I love love love listening to Tom Petty and immediately when I heard this on the radio station that it was Tom Petty's rip off.
I said the same thing I thought I knew the song, was shaking my head trying to figure it out. Pretty Amazing
That is just being very Petty!
lol
"About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam," Petty wrote. "All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam's people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement.
"The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it," Petty continued. "How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career. Peace and love to all."
The writers of Stay With Me acknowledged they have never heard I Won't Back Down before, and they immediately listened to it and agreed on the similarity and they worked out the agreement. Not their fault.
I can’t believe they’ve never heard WBD. Unless they can prove that they’ve been living under a rock for the past 35 years.
Been thinking this for days, glad I'm not alone!
Thank you for the impartial and very well illustrated point. Be well!
whether inadvertent or not, it's definitely too similar to be considered random. The only people saying Sam Smith's song doesn't have any similarity probably dont have any music experience
tkx7 true
very true. i knew sams song first and just happened upon tom perry’s song by chance and immediately noticed the similarity
great explanation, my wife asked me how she knows the Sam Smith's song, if it was a cover of one of my Rock tunes
Thanks for sharing your insight Chuck.
I'm like you, when I first heard this song, I was like, I know I've heard this before. It wasn't til someone mentioned "Won't Back Down" and I said, of course.
As soon as I heard it, I knew I would have recognized the similarity at once, it's so strong to me. But then, few people were as into Tom Petty as I was for SO many years. I still think he and the Heartbreakers are monster talented.
I was playing the chorus to gaga"s "you and i"..g,Am,c,g...and started singing 4non blondes," what's going on?"..lol...same melody!
That's it! I knew it sounded like something else, but couldn't think is what it was.
PianoManChuck , you are 100 percent right . the beats on the song may seems tricky but the melody is exactly alike . So for those people out there that gets confused on situations like this , it's the similarity of the melody on the song that makes the case , it doesn't matter if one song has slow beat and the other has fast beat and also it doesn't matter if the two songs is being played with different keys , It's the melody that makes the case . What about Robin Thicke Blurred Lines VS Marvin Gaye Got To Give It Up , the similarity is the sound and the melody of the drums . Can you please do a forensic on this one . LOL
Yeah,robin and pharrell just lost this case for millions..marvins greedy family still fighting over his estate and the pie just got bigger.
Here's where I found it. It's at the bottom of the page. I'm on a mobile it may look different on PC. But, it is the only place I've seen where Petty is credited. As far as any legal action Tom Petty can take, that's not my problem nor do I care.
Shannon Morrow Thanks for the link. That's a music lyric website... they're most likely crediting Tom Petty for the music to cover their ass so that they don't get sued.... but Sam Smith does not credit Tom Petty anywhere, and you're right... that's the only place where Petty's name actually showed up.
PianoManChuck Chuck, go listen to 'Cecilia' by Simon & Garfunkel, then listen to 'Some Nights' by fun. :-)
is this hugh mungus?
Thanks for the explanation!
I love both songs!
Me too!
Hey, PianoMan...Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne should split their portion of the royalties with you for making that connection!
My thoughts exactly. I figured it out too.
Nice job.
What about The Black Keys "Little Black Submarine" and Tom Pettys "Mary Janes last dance" :-)
lesson i learned: if you want to be successful in the music industry you must copy old songs
now let's see how much hate i get
Have you ever seen Robert Estrin's LivingPianos channel? You guys are totally long lost brothers!
Tommy died today. He was getting royalties for writing Sam's sing though... But it's yet another sad day for music.
I never had too much respect for Sam Smith, but any potential for respect has been completely wiped off the table after this.
Can you give a tutorial on tom pettys for piano like you played in this video? Please
A lot of artists are taking credit for someone else's work; Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Avicii. People think the person on the cover did all the work. ASCAP legal credit for Stay... goes to Jeff Lynne & 3rd person down is Tom Petty. HOWEVER just like with Avicii people think Sam wrote this, people think Avicii can actually sing. Whatever. Personally, I wouldn't pay to see Avicii turn his computer on & wave his arms, Taylor autotuned to a backing track or Sam Smith slur in a British accent a boring song. But that's MY opinion. Media will tell us what our opinion should be, what we should play & like & we will - almost all - go along with it.
www.ascap.com/Home/ace-title-search/index.aspx
In pop a lot of songs sound similar because of the sequence of chords, but you can’t say he committed plagiarism just for that part of the song. The lyrics which are the most dificult thing to do are súper different from Petty’s song , also the verses of the song , the chorus is similar to the verse of Tom but also has its own things in the melody that makes it original, the rythm and pace its different, and the voice of Sam is beautiful in comparison with Tom’s.
Well Hurray for Tom Petty!!1
PianoManChuck. Great find. Now can you please listen to Sam Smiths newest hit I'm not the only one. The chorus sounds so so familiar but I can't place it. I've listen to so many 70-80s soft rack ballads because I know I've heard it somewhere. I can't find it maybe I'm wrong.
merrill coleman Good song, but doesn't ring any bells...
Upon first listen I immediately heard "You Are The Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne
perfect!!!! thanks for posting
I do some song writing and yeah, it's a lot easier to find a song you really like, and change it up so hopefully no one recognizes that you formed your song directly from another. Right or wrong, I don't know. John Lennon once said, If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'.
He did it again with careless whisper. Listen to his how do you sleep song.
When I first heard this I was at the store and I totally thought it was a Tom Petty cover. Nobody noticed until a lawsuit later that year.
Tom Petty>Sam Smith. No contest.
Yeah cause every artist in the older days are 298572394239572935890 times better than everybody in the world no reason to explain of course.
Are you kidding? Tom Petty is a legend. His music is its own explanation.
This guy is famous because he's gay and stole a guys song. If that's all it takes to impress you then look out the window to the blue car parked on the side of the road.
Dave Twardy lol
what
i have been hearning this song stay with me lately and ik eptsaying. the same thing . heliterally just is playg tom petty's I won't back down.
this would be called "sampling" right?
One shouldn't be able to copyright a chord sequence.
i just realized this after listening to angus and julia cover of stay with me
Well, apparently Tom and his lawyers gave a shit because it was just reported that he is now collecting royalties on it. Good for him!
The Harvard musicilogist said there's only 9 ways a pop rock song can go when it comes to the American songbook...so Tom getting copied was inevitable
Alright. Thanks for listening. I'm not sure why it's so familiar to me...anyways have a great Thanksgiving!
almost a 3 note song / what about phil collins sussidio and prince 1999,michael jackson black and white and mellencamp jack and diane.i got more...
Tom Petty is a cowriter of Stay With Me by Sam Smith. Took me five minutes of research to figure that out.
Shannon Morrow Your research is flawed (what is your source?)... I researched it too, for about an hour before producing this video. "Stay with me" was written by Sam Smith and Jimmy Napier. Absolutely nowhere is there any credit listed, given, or even remotely implied that Tom Petty was involved in the making of the song... except that Tom Petty wrote the original music & chord progressions 25 years ago, only to be copied by Sam Smith and Jimmy Napier this year, without permission. Should Tom Petty decide to take legal action, he as an extremely strong case, while Sam Smith and Jimmy Napier's case is very weak at best (I suppose you didn't research the legal aspects of what would happen in a lawsuit if Petty pursues this case).
In the settlement of this frivolous claim, cry baby - Tom Petty was awarded with the title 'co-writer' - I don't think they sound a like at all... nobody owns notes... there are only 88 keys on the piano... who has the rights to them... this just boggles my mind...
to each is own
there's only so many notes on the keyboard. at some point all the combinations are going to be used
They sound... kind of similar?
It’s Plagiary
Also the success of that song helped him land a contract to write and sing for James bond movie.
True, but the lyrics also sound like something ( .....why don't you stay with my ...cause I just can't see...) or something like that.... anyone?!
any tips for playing by ear
Don't wear ear plugs
+Timothy Deans Hunt wtf
+Dictator play what
Start with the lowest note and work upward until you find the right one.
Maroon 5's song Sugar stole from Michael Jackson's Beat It. Do you agree?
at this moment there are 24 tone deaf people..lol
I'm not really a big Sam Smith or Tom Petty fan. I do hear the similarity, but it's not that apparent to me. Perhaps b/c I don't play music it's not as easy to hear... idk...
I must say though for Sam to have to pay royalties and writing credits on this song is pretty brutal. Especially when you consider that Ga Ga didn't have to pay Madonna for the Born This Way/ Express Yourself fiasco. Those songs sound A LOT alike. Oh well...
Put both songs together and you have a good mashup
Woah
It's incredibly similar, but I don't believe it was on purpose. Sam Smith isn't a crook or a rip off, he just used an extremely similar chord progression that's almost exact. That happens so often where it's entirely unintentional. I have a friend who had the same thing happen because he used an extremely common chord progression that sounded exactly like another song... one he'd never heard before. Sam Smith made it right when Tom Petty made the similarities known, but there wasn't any explicit malicious intent on the former's part, obviously. It wasn't stolen, nor was it plagiarism. Even if he noticed the chord progression, which it's quite possible he did, I doubt he would think, "Oh, yeah, this is COMPLETELY Tom Petty's song" cause it's not. The chorus is simply exceedingly similar to parts of Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down.
Tom petty is now sueing Sam smith for copywrite infringement. Do you agree with this?
Questlove sent me here ☺
I don't think its wrong for petty to get a cut of the song...i think 13% is a bit much, but he definitely shouldn't have his name on anything, or shouldn't be recognized for any of the production. Music is bound to cross path's no matter where you go, but these are way to similar. Chords is one thing, but when lyrics melodies have the same syncopation, its too much to ignore.
Tom makes some extra money.
It’s Three Blind Mice !!!
I hope Tom Petty gives you some of that cash for making this video and getting the word out. Sam Smith...shame on you.
LOL. Yeah. He's going to for sure do that.
Mad bro?
Tom didn't even give a crap.
senior fathead
He got Smith to settle, mostly because Lynne was a slight bit pissed and also because he wanted credit were credit was due.
Sam shame on you 🤣🤣
All his music sounds stolen to me.
George and Tom were pals.
I'm so glad Sam settled copyright
each generation copies the old generation. its how music evolves. nothing beats the 70-80 for a older guy like me. and nothing beats the 80-90 for the kids 10 years younger than me and so on and so on.... now kids are listening to stuff that I cant comprehend as music but this is the same thing i thought when i listened to music made in the 50's. Its like saying "hey i want credit because u used the guitar in your song... bullshit. Tom Petty is like in my top 5 musicians of all time. but this was a bitch move to cash in a little. let the new guy enjoy some of the good life without trying to take some of it away from him.. not a fan of his song, but that does not matter.
This is literally the same shit that went down between Gaga and Madonna. Two songs can sound similar thanks to the chords but they're completely different. I don't like Sam Smith but I think him paying royalties for a song that has the same chords is just ridiculous. Like someone else said, it's like saying RoboCop copied Terminator. There's no merit to it when there are millions of songs but only so many notes.
***** How does one trademark several chords in a row? I'm sure there were songs before Petty's that had those notes and there'll be ones after Smith's. I see what you're saying but I still think it's a bit much.
MrImagayguy the chord progression is unimportant. The melody of the chorus of "stay with me" is the same melody from the verse of "won't back down"
No this would be like if Robo Cop copied Terminator but instead of calling it Robocop calling it Terminator.
***** Mmmm yeah I see your point.
Mrimagayguy, this is more than copying a few chord progressions. This is blatant copying of a melody. You are right that no one can copyright chord progressions because everyone uses the standard ones and they have existed as long as music itself. It would be inaccurate to say that anyone "composed" a chord progression, and impossible to prove that one person thought it up, as most of them are ubiquitous. Which explains why Vanilla Ice were not found to be plagiaristic for "Ice Ice Baby" when it is blatantly copied from Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure". It's an obvious ripoff, because of the uniqueness of the opening riffs, but apparently just those were not enough to qualify as plagiarism. But not so with an entire melody. If the Chiffons could sue George Harrison over "My Sweet Lord" sounding too much like "He's so Fine", and win, this is more extensive a similarity.
That's not how Tom Petty sings it. You're slowing it down.
Thanks Piano Man. Guess who just won a Grammy! I'll give you a hint. It wasn't Tom Petty.
Tom Petty already has four fucking Grammy awards you ignorant swine.
Also Tom Petty has 12.5% song writing credit which means he also won a grammy last night.
***** Never was there a mention in my comment of Petty not previously winning a Grammy. Ignorant swine? I would maybe suggest anger management Tim.
I'll give you a hint, you don't end a question with an exclamation point.
***** Grammar? In some styles an exclaimed question is ended with an exclamation point. Ironically we're in a thread about petty.... and if you give me shit as to why I didn't capitalize petty, then God bless you.
Seems a little harsh for a few notes and not exactly Kelly Clarkson v Jimmy Eat World where there are whole swathes of similarities including the melody. Now that is what I call a cover by any other name but not this. For the record I am a music fan and not a Sam Smith fan and did know who he was until recently.
how would you feel when someone sue you because you look like them? sam smith did not copy him. the song sound the same by accident.
Delena Paw Such crap! that's why when you look up composers of the song it now says Tom Petty as well because Sam Smith ripped it off
I don't know if 'interesting' is how I define plagiarism. How about, 'disgusting'? Much more appropriate. Sam Smith is a rip-off artist and should have thanked Tom Petty every time he stepped on stage to accept a Grammy. All you Smith lovers can hate, but you can't afford to be naive enough to think this was by accident. It was recorded in a studio, with professional sound engineers. If this guy on a piano figured it out, you think they didn't neither. So next year I'll just speed up a Beatles song and screw around with the pitch, add some sappy choir boy drivel instead of lyrics, and I'll win next year. Perfect!
Dissin' Terry its not plagiarism when Sam gave him writing credits and 12% profits. Anyway RIP Tom Petty he was a legend
The same thing happened to Mike Clarke the drummer, musicians & I use this term loosely were stealing his drum grooves on Rap & Mixed DJ crap & using them without his permission, I believe suing there ass off, as he should be.
GO TOM these assholes should go write their own music & if they steal yours they should pay BIG TIME.
Drums are fair game. And the drummer always gets screwed. They're part of the arrangement. They make shit. That's a fact.
tom petty and jeff lynn are to get paid royalties and get writing credit for the similarities of the melody of 'Stay with me' even though the writers had never heard of 'wont back down', END OF !!!!
Ignorance is no defense in law. The point is that Sam's song wasn't original enough.
So what?? what's the significance?
I've never understood all the fuss about this. You know how many thousands of artists there are that have written millions of songs, with only how many notes to work with?? (Only 88 on a standard piano) I'ts inevitable you are eventually going to find two songs that match up pretty close. And give me a break, the chords and melody's Tom petty used where so simple and basic, it's ridiculous. Take free falling, Petty sings a whopping three notes the whole song, F, G, and A. Even the chorus, he merely jumps up an octave... "And I'm Freeeeee" (F,G, A) "Free fa-lling" (A, G F). So does Petty now own the rights to every song that relies on F, G & A ?
I have always been a HUGE Tom Petty fan, and still am, but I lost a lot respect for him when he jumped at the opportunity to take money out the pocket of a new artist like Sam Smith. Shame on you Tom Petty. smh
The significant is that this almost resulted in a lawsuit and Tom is now listed as a co-writer for Stay With Me
It's one thing to write simple tunes, another to be an amateur and rip someone else's work. Totally different when you each have teams of people looking to make a profit from someone else's work... without ANY permission.
Tom petty is suing Sam smith for royalties.
all rap beats sound alike so why aren't
rappers suing each other? tom petty does not need the money or does he? PRINCE
is the king of copyright infringement law suits! Is Tom petty following in the footsteps of Prince? not too many artist
care about Copyright infringement on You tube!
Beats don't count. It's the chord progression and the amount of bars.
tom petty never sued, nor did he intend to.
His record company did. He get like 40% of any income generated by that song.
***** they didn't sue either. tom petty (rolling stone from petty's site): "the word lawsuit was never even said." and it's a 12% writing credit to petty and lynne. i doubt that amounts to 40% royalties..
I'm not positive about that number. I heard something the other day that he will get money from the song. He doesn't have to sue. They may have willfully offered Petty a fair sum. There's no way Smith didn't know what he was doing.
the meolody is different, he didn't rip it
So annoyed by this argument. They share the same chords. The pitch is different, the tempo is different. The melodies change. It's so obnoxious to give Tom Petty, whom I love, credit for the Sam Smith song.
Thomas sam smith blatently copied the melody but just changed the tempo
Definitely the same melody when compared side by side. Tom seems to chock it up as unintentional and Smith has agreed to paying royalties. Case closed.
Tom Pretty is the original and better.
Petty, not Pretty
You're intentionally trying to phrase Sam's melody to fit Petty's cadence.
They have the same chords.
So do millions of songs.
Sams song is as much stolen, as jazz was from classical music. Changing up classical music to sound like jazz is as easy as changing the timing, tempo and the length of each note without needing to change the actual notes.
Sam did not steal anything. These songs sound nothing alike. Simply using the same or similar sequence of notes in a short part of the song is not stealing. It's music.
If the timing, tempo, length and pitch of each note/sequence in the verse/chorus was similar or exact, then yes it would be stealing. But it wasn't close, so its not stealing.
Sam Smith ripped off Tom Petty, but Your face rips off Robin Williams lol You look like him XD
It's the same chords. Yea, so what? There are not that many original compositions out there. Everyone needs to realize this. The songs are the same but sound slightly different. Who gives a shit? If everyone decided to start suing each other over chords music would come to an end.
I'm blown away by people who don't understand the concept of intellectual property and insist things like this are "no big deal." You know what? I'll just write a movie called "Forest Gump" about a slow guy in Alabama who experiences world historical events first-hand. But, it's completely cool because the original is called "Forrest Gump" but mine will only be called "Forest Gump." I mean, the alphabet only has so many letters, right? Unreal.
Decadepast - If someone was making millions off of a song you wrote, you might be thinking differently. Anyway, it's way beyond "it's the same chords". Yes, a lot of songs have the same chord progression, but Stay With Me also has the exact same vocal melody over the chords. Who gives a shit you say? How about the people who wrote Won't Back Down, and then getting their music copied and sung by someone else, all while that new song is a top hit making millions. That's who gives a shit, and so would you if it was your song.
*****, I get what you're saying about people being touched by a song, but I don't know if you're familiar with intellectual property and why you just can't go around copying other people's work and making money off it yourself. My friend is a musician and one time we were hanging out and she started playing a melody that she said had "just" come to her. So, she started playing it and within about 20 seconds I told her, "Ummmm, yeah, the reason why that melody sounds so cool is because it's already proven to be catchy and someone has already made a lot of money off it!" She was playing the first four notes of the Crystals' song "Then He Kissed Me" over and over... just like they do in the song. Seriously, it's a matter of intellectual property - not a matter of a new audience being touched emotionally or not being familiar with the original song. It's a legal concept, pure and simple.
*****, with all due respect, I'm thinking it's safe to assume you're not someone who makes a living writing and performing songs for a living. I also think you wouldn't be saying music belongs to "all of humanity" if you were a musician who fed his family and put a roof over their heads with the money you made from YOUR songs. If I'm wrong, so be it. But, if I was a betting man, I'd put my money on you understanding the issue here a lot better from that perspective. That is, unless you're some great humanitarian who doesn't mind OTHER musicians feeding their kids or putting roofs over their heads with YOUR music.
*****, my point wasn't about struggles. It was about trying to understand it from a musician's perspective and hoping you'd then be able to appreciate why we have intellectual property laws and who they're designed to protect. If that point got lost, I have nothing else to try to sway you to seeing it from the proper, legal, and creatively just perspective.
Oh the irony of that surname tom!!
Petty is pissed because smiths is better
Smith's song is about a guy who develops feelings after having casual sex while Petty's song is about standing up against oppression and sticking by what you believe in. Petty has had a far more successful and influential career than Smith and this song was a part of that great career. Trust me, Tom's was much better.
Btw Tom isn't the one suing, it's the record label. He actually came out and said that he didn't care that the two songs shared the same melody.
Chris O'Shea lol far more successful career? Sam has only released one album so far...he's only just entered the game
Smiths song is fucking second rate shit!
better? haha. 15 minutes of fame, that's all that he have.
I'm not a fan of either artist but Tom Petty is better because he's the one who came up with it. Original always beats unoriginal.