This is SO ridiculous. If LED ZEPPELIN had actually stolen this song I, as a songwriter, would be calling for their heads! But in order to determine if any plagiarism has occurred, you have to listen to BOTH pieces of music! RANDY CALIFORNIA’s TAURUS, first and foremost, is an INSTRUMENTAL song with ZERO lyrics. Secondly, both STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN and TAURUS share a chord progression that lasts exactly THREE MEASURES OF MUSIC, that’s it! First measure is Am for 2 beats then Am/G# for 2 beats. Next measure it’s Am/G then Am/F# for 2 beats. Last measure it’s 4 beats of F Maj7. THAT IS IT. What throws the non-musician in this is that they both use that progression in their intros. But to call a chord progression that runs for 3 measures PLAGIARISM is ridiculous. Then I guess Phil Collins SUSSUDIO is plagiarism since it’s the exact same chord progression for Prince’s 1999. And unlike Led Zeppelin that only use 3 measures and then write all original material, SUSSUDIO uses the “Prince Chord Progression” for the entire song. So, then why is Phil Collins safe from a lawsuit? Simple! The definition of a song as delineated by the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS is the arrangement of MELODY AND LYRICS. Once again, it says MELODY AND LYRICS. Chord progressions are fair game. If someone wrote the MELODY AND LYRICS and you help them figure out some chords underneath of what they’re singing, hey guess what? You did NOT co-write that song! It’s all about MELODY AND LYRICS. Unless you’ve agreed before hand, if someone writes MELODY AND LYRICS over a track that you’ve put together, that song is 100% theirs. The harmony underneath is NOT recognized as songwriting in any way! So, if you produce a track and invite a singer to write a melody and lyrics, you better agree on the song splits before hand because legally, whatever he or she does will be 100% theirs. LED ZEPPELIN did not plagiarize STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, they did what all artists do, they took a little from here and there and made it their own. But to say that TAURUS is “exactly like” Stairway To Heaven is to be a musical idiot. The 2 pieces of music share a chord progression for 3 measures, that’s it. I can give 25 pop song examples off of the top of my head that share MUCH MORE than 3 measures of music and no one is suing anyone. I hope this judge throws this ridiculous lawsuit out because it’s just embarrassing for anyone who thinks that something was stolen here. The chord progression is basic, it’s used in a lot of guitar instruction books to teach kids to play, and there’s nothing remarkable about it. In TAURUS, on the 4th bar of the progression, RANDY CALIFORNIA goes to a Dm. LED ZEPPELIN (famously) goes to a G and then quickly back to Am, using a chord progression there that would become a rock and roll standard. Many, many, many bands writing songs in minor keys “borrowed” that little trick from LED ZEPPELIN themselves on their songs. Listen, every songwriter borrows a little (there are only 12 notes, there’s BOUND to be a little repetition) but what you try and prevent is just flat out, Shia Labeouf kind of STEALING, where every word and note is the same and he acts all innocent all the while knowing he was stealing another’s creatiity. I’m very sorry LED ZEPPELIN haters and RANDY CALIFORNIA fans (all 6 of you), there was NO PLAGIARISM here. None at all. :-)
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 15:17:42 +0000
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