Does This Make Sense To Anyone?

I wasn't real sure where to post this. I decided to post it here in the rock section because Tom Petty is considered classic rock.

As for the other artist....No...it's not a style that I prefer.

Does anyone here hear these "similarites"? Because I sure don't.

It makes no sense to me.

http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/01/tom-petty-awarded-songwriting-royalties-for-sam-smiths-stay-with-me/

Oh yes, totally hear it in the chorus.

Hmmm...let's compare the two.

Sam Smith
Won't you...stay with me
Cause you're...all I need
This aint love, it's clear to see
But darling...stay with me

Tom Petty
Well I...won't back down
No I...won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I...won't back down


The only similarities I see are in the phrasing and the amount of syllables used.
There is no similarity in the melody at all that I can hear.

I really don't think this is any kind of copyright infringement...just coincidence.

As one comment on the the article says...."This is so petty."

Sorry, besides the lyrics the chorus sounds nearly identical to me.

I agree, lyrics aside, the choruses are identical.  You can sing one over the other.  Stay With Me is just slower.  The verse phrasing with the 3 chord progression is very similar, too with Stay being slower.

Similar melody. But I doubt this guy ripped off Petty on purpose. There are only so many chords out there.

I hear similarities in the music, but man, not nearly enough to pay royalties!

Don't worry, this only happens to popular, big money-makers. Rule of thumb: if you're gonna be a sell-out pop artist, you gotta at least write original melodies. 

Here is another article that sheds some more light on this issue...

http://www.kare11.com/story/life/music/2015/01/26/sam-smith-stay-with-me-tom-petty-i-wont-back-down/22346051/

So the UK artist, Sam Smith, was not even aware of the Tom Petty song when he wrote Stay With Me.

It just seems even more ridiculous now that Tom Petty is receiving royalties and is being listed as a co-writer for Stay With Me.

He didn't have to know it, one of his songwriting teammates could have done the dirty work. I don't listen to Tom Petty and his little supergroup, but I've heard that song on the radio many times. It probably was unintentional, but I'm sure at least one the grown men making bank for writing his songs heard it before.

Just don't ever write any chorus lines like this...

*two syllables*...(short pause)...*three syllables*
*two syllables*...(short pause)...*three syllables*
*9 or 10 syllables*
*two syllables*...(short pause)...*three syllables*

...or you may have to list Tom Petty as a co-writer.

I was at a party and someone started playing Stay With Me on guitar and I started singing I Won't Back Down automatically in my head, so yes I hear the similarities.

deathisgain wrote:Similar melody. But I doubt this guy ripped off Petty on purpose. There are only so many chords out there.

I hear the similarities, but I agree with this. I don't sense that it was so similar that it was a rip-off. I think Smith got hosed.

It's nearly impossible to write a song that is more simple than the Tom Petty song. And there are millions of songs like that out there.
And if another artist like Sam Smith decides to spend only 5 seconds for songwriting the result HAS to sound like at least one other song that already exists. It's impossible to write something really unique on such a poor level.

So I would sue them BOTH for artistic laziness.

Tobi Elektrik wrote:It's nearly impossible to write a song that is more simple than the Tom Petty song. And there are millions of songs like that out there.
And if another artist like Sam Smith decides to spend only 5 seconds for songwriting the result HAS to sound like at least one other song that already exists. It's impossible to write something really unique on such a poor level.

So I would sue them BOTH for artistic laziness.

Ha!

haha

What Tom Petty has to say:  http://www.tompetty.com/blog/statement-tom-petty-423041