Copyrighted music?

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jndietz

The Way It Moves
So, there's a band that we play with and they've recorded a song and have it copyrighted now. However, one of our songs has a riff that is almost exactly similar, however the song in a whole is different.

Are we infringing on their copyright by playing this live?
 
If you have their permission, the whole discussion is unnecessary.

If you don't have their permission, then I guess recognizable parts maybe considered stealing.

Doesn't sound like it's parody, from your post.
 
It was completely accidental. We wrote the song over the summer, before we met the band. They wrote the song I think a year ago. We just started playing together in September.

I think it was just a real weird coincidence.
 
jndietz said:
So, there's a band that we play with and they've recorded a song and have it copyrighted now. However, one of our songs has a riff that is almost exactly similar, however the song in a whole is different.

Are we infringing on their copyright by playing this live?
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No you are not. If it was the case then every tom dick and harry would be sueing each other. Has to be a blatant rip off. Even then its hard to prove. As long as a little bit is different then its not an infringement. Look at the song Jane by Jefferson Starship and Aldo Novas' Fantasy. Very similar. I know there are others that sound like those two mentioned. Anyone else know a few?
 
BushmasterM4 said:
I know there are others that sound like those two mentioned. Anyone else know a few?
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Rocky Mountain Way from Joe Walsh and The Snake (I think that's what it's called) from Steve Miller... Of course, there are those that say Rocky mountain Way sounds a bit too much like Sex Machine from Sly & The Family Stone...
 
The most famous example was the Chiffon's "He's So Fine" and George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". Harrison lost that case, but in question was the vocal melody, not just the riff.

It would be much more difficult to proceed with a copyright infringement claim based merely off of a riff. In general, a chord progression cannot be copyrighted, so to prevail the plaintiff would have to demonstrate the riff was more a distinctive melody than merely a rhythmic figure (which is where the word "riff" derives). In other words, it would have to be more "Black Dog" and less "Louie Louie", if you get my drift.

But I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV . . .
 
jndietz said:
So, there's a band that we play with and they've recorded a song and have it copyrighted now. However, one of our songs has a riff that is almost exactly similar, however the song in a whole is different.

Are we infringing on their copyright by playing this live?
Click to expand...
Going back to the lyre and kithera players of 5th century BC Greece, there have only been 184 riffs that exist in all of music. They're just copied here and there, with slight variations.:D
 
XLR said:
Going back to the lyre and kithera players of 5th century BC Greece, there have only been 184 riffs that exist in all of music. They're just copied here and there, with slight variations.:D
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It might feel that way as you're slogging through Sor's etudes! :p
 
Listen to Red Hot Chili Pepper's Dani California, then Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane" or "Mary Jane's Last Dance". I don't believe there was a lawsuit over that and both riffs are almost identical as is the vocal melody.
 
danny.guitar said:
Listen to Red Hot Chili Pepper's Dani California, then Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane" or "Mary Jane's Last Dance". I don't believe there was a lawsuit over that and both riffs are almost identical as is the vocal melody.
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Yea that was a big stink when Pepper tune first came out.
 
I especially wou'dn't be worried about playing it live. Or else every cover band across the country would be getting sued by the major labels!!
 
There are a million riff rip-offs. You can't get sued for that. I think it's only if the melody of the vocals has more than 5 notes in a row with the same pitch and duration. I may be way off because I can't back that up. It's just something I think I once heard or read.
 
Portions of Green Day's "Jesus of Suburbia" have the exact same progression and melody as Motley Crue's "On With the Show", and the Green Day fags haven't been beaten up by Nikki Sixx yet, so I'm sure it's all good. :)
 
jndietz said:
So, there's a band that we play with and they've recorded a song and have it copyrighted now. However, one of our songs has a riff that is almost exactly similar, however the song in a whole is different.

Are we infringing on their copyright by playing this live?
Click to expand...

Thats up to the judge to decide. If the other band don't take legal action then yous are fine but if they do then you probably will loose the court case since they copyrighted the song with the riff in it before yous did.

Id speak with the band and ask them if its ok to use the riff.

Eck
 
danny.guitar said:
Listen to Red Hot Chili Pepper's Dani California, then Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane" or "Mary Jane's Last Dance". I don't believe there was a lawsuit over that and both riffs are almost identical as is the vocal melody.
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You never know what goes on with the major labels, they are crafty and sly.
Theres every chance that Red Hot Chili Peppers heard Last Dance and thought it would be a great hit if they made a song from it. So maybe they asked the owner of the song for the rights to use it while keeping it quiet from the press.

I mean the chilis have well and truely sold out now which is very sad as they used to be a fekin great original band but gave in to the money involved with pop music. :(

Eck
 
CIRO said:
Like "My sweet Lord/He´s so fine" case is Rod Stewart´s song "Do ya think I´m sexy", which has 8 bars (four, repeated) exactly as (brazilian singer) Jorge Ben "Taj mahal".

Comparing:

Taj mahal (Jorge Ben) (1972):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M-bZ1tbHw8 (melody between 1:18 / 1:30)

Do ya think I´m sexy (Rod Stewart/Carmine Appice) (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On3rfstwJUQ (0:52/ 1:07)


Ciro

www.soundclick.com/openstation
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Yeah the vocal melodies are the same which leads me to believe Rod Stewart asked for the rights to the melody.

Eck
 
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