{"id":101181,"date":"2022-08-25T16:57:07","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T21:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=101181"},"modified":"2022-08-25T16:57:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T21:57:07","slug":"how-to-avoid-a-lawsuit-when-writing-a-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-to-avoid-a-lawsuit-when-writing-a-song\/","title":{"rendered":"How to avoid a lawsuit when writing a song"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lauren Turner
\n<\/strong>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Streaming platforms such as Spotify and SoundCloud make it easier to share and upload music \u2013and to remix and sample it. Think about Doja Cat\u2019s \u201cFreak\u201d (Paul Anka\u2019s \u201cPut Your Head on My Shoulder\u201d), Miley Cyrus\u2019 \u201cMidnight Sky\u201d (Stevie Nicks\u2019 \u201cEdge of Seventeen\u201d) and Lil Uzi Vert\u2019s \u201cThat Way\u201d (Backstreet Boys\u2019 \u201cI Want it That Way\u201d). But these artists must be careful with copyright. Follow these tips from experts to avoid a messy musical lawsuit:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Be aware of inspirations and influences<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Songwriters should be honest with themselves about who they admire and what music they consume. For example, if you\u2019re constantly listening to another singer or band, you may pick up on melodies or rhythms subconsciously. Make sure you aren\u2019t accidently rewriting one of their tunes by listening to your song in comparison to theirs.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \u2018I wanna sound like that?\u2019 NO, NO, NO!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Try to be original. \u201cNow, that everything is electronic, it\u2019s much easier to sound like what you hear,\u201d said Loren Mulraine, a former DJ and musician, who is now an entertainment lawyer and professor at Belmont University. \u201cYou can program your keyboard to be perfect and program your drums to be perfect. So, it\u2019s a lot easier now to sound like what you\u2019ve already heard.\u201d According to Music Business Worldwide, 60,000 new songs are uploaded onto Spotify each day. (That\u2019s 22 million in a year and 1.4 every second!)<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Have someone you deeply trust listen to it\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Let other band members, family members or someone you closely trust listen to your song. They\u2019ll be able to point out whether it sounds like something they\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Try different instruments<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          When Mulraine taught songwriting, he challenged his students to use an instrument they didn\u2019t normally play. \u201cYou\u2019re a guitar player? Try to write on keyboard,\u201d he said. \u201cYou might only be able to bang the chords out, but it probably opens yourself up to more creative areas because you\u2019re not falling into those same regular chords you play all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Avoid simplicity<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Musicians can only use so many notes or beats. Many famous pop songs use a four-chord progression, known as I, V, vi and IV, said Mark Avsec, a musician, songwriter and specialist in copyright infringement and a former member of Wild Cherry. He\u2019s written, produced and performed on songs such as \u201cShe Don\u2019t Know Me,\u201d by Bon Jovi, and \u201cAngel Love,\u201d by Carlos Santana. Axis of Awesome, an Australian musical comedy act, made a parody<\/a> that included popular hits that used these chords. When music (like pop) is intended to reach a vast audience, it can become difficult to expand your creativeness because you\u2019re trying to keep it simple, Mulraine explained.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Don\u2019t edit as you go<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Don\u2019t edit your song while you write. \u201cIf you\u2019re trying to edit it as you\u2019re writing it, you\u2019re more likely listening for something you\u2019ve heard already,\u201d Mulraine said. \u201cWhereas, if you\u2019re just creating and then after you\u2019re done you say, \u2018Wait a minute. Let me shift this around.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Give credit where credit is due<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                If you suspect your music owes a debt to another song, give that artist credit. Better safe than sorry. After he was sued for \u201cShape of You\u201d being too familiar to TLC\u2019s \u201cNo Scrubs,\u201d Ed Sheeran gave those songwriters credit. Sheeran won the lawsuit and even released a YouTube video<\/a>\u00a0talking about the case and similarity between pop songs. \u201cCoincidence is bound to happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Ask for permission<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  When it comes to sampling and remixing, artists must ask for permission from the original songwriters to make a derivative work, according to Section 106 of the Copyright Act. The original songwriters can grant permission to use their song. A great example is Ariana Grande\u2019s \u201c7 Rings.\u201d Ninety percent of the royalties go toward Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, songwriters of \u201cMy Favorite Things,\u201d from \u201cThe Sound of Music,\u201d The New York Times reported<\/a>.\u00a0Since Grande signed away the royalties, she profits off performing and streaming rights.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Don\u2019t make a hit<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    \u201cIt only becomes a problem if you have a hit,\u201d Mulraine said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t come after you unless you\u2019re successful.\u201d That draws attention to the work. \u201cThe best way to avoid a lawsuit about a song is to not have a hit,\u201d said Mark Goldstein, former senior vice president of business and legal affairs at Warner Bros Records Inc., and now a professor at University of Southern California along with working as a consultant in the entertainment industry. \u201cThe moment that your song blows up, whether on TikTok or whether because it\u2019s getting lots of streams on Spotify or you\u2019re selling CDs or you\u2019re getting downloads, then the crazy letters come out of the woodwork. None of that happens unless you\u2019re successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

                    Lauren Turner is a magazine graduate student at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter at @Lauren_N_Turner<\/a>.<\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    By Lauren Turner Medill Reports Streaming platforms such as Spotify and SoundCloud make it easier to share and upload music \u2013and to remix and sample it. Think about Doja Cat\u2019s \u201cFreak\u201d (Paul Anka\u2019s \u201cPut Your Head on My Shoulder\u201d), Miley Cyrus\u2019 \u201cMidnight Sky\u201d (Stevie Nicks\u2019 \u201cEdge of Seventeen\u201d) and Lil Uzi Vert\u2019s \u201cThat Way\u201d (Backstreet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":867,"featured_media":101182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,5317],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-summer-2022"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to avoid a lawsuit when writing a song - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-to-avoid-a-lawsuit-when-writing-a-song\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to avoid a lawsuit when writing a song - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Lauren Turner Medill Reports Streaming platforms such as Spotify and SoundCloud make it easier to share and upload music \u2013and to remix and sample it. Think about Doja Cat\u2019s \u201cFreak\u201d (Paul Anka\u2019s \u201cPut Your Head on My Shoulder\u201d), Miley Cyrus\u2019 \u201cMidnight Sky\u201d (Stevie Nicks\u2019 \u201cEdge of Seventeen\u201d) and Lil Uzi Vert\u2019s \u201cThat Way\u201d (Backstreet […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-to-avoid-a-lawsuit-when-writing-a-song\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-25T21:57:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/08\/sigmund-rMW9us4NCzU-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"laurenturner2022\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"laurenturner2022\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-to-avoid-a-lawsuit-when-writing-a-song\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-to-avoid-a-lawsuit-when-writing-a-song\/\",\"name\":\"How to avoid a lawsuit when writing a song - 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