Here in the first full week of June, it’s time to start thinking about what the songs of the summer will be in 2016. But could the most important music story of the summer take place in court?
Next week (June 14), Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin will appear in Los Angeles federal court to defend themselves in a plagiarism lawsuit alleging that parts of the band’s legendary song “Stairway to Heaven” were taken from a song titled “Spirit” by the band Taurus.
Does the suit have merit? Take a listen to “Spirit,” if you want to judge for yourself.
Same song? No, but that’s not what the lawsuit filed by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for songwriter Randy Wolfe, is claiming. Do those guitar notes that begin at the 0:45 mark of the song have the ring of familiarity? The claim is that members of Led Zeppelin heard “Spirit” when the bands encountered one another early in their respective careers and appropriated that part of the song.
Naturally, Page and Plant deny having heard “Spirit” before. Such cases have reached settlements, deciding that similarities between particular songs is a coincidence. Earlier last year, Sam Smith gave songwriting credit for “Stay With Me” to Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne after the two noted similarities to Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
Here is “Stairway to Heaven,” if you need to familiarize yourself with that classic rock staple.
https://youtu.be/rYq0MTvCGzA
In the past, such cases might not get very far. But a jury ruling last year that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had to pay $7.5 million to the family of Marvin Gaye for copying parts of the singer’s “Got to Give it Up” has changed the legal landscape for such cases as far as artists and songwriters emulating the “feel” of a certain song and has the music industry on edge.
For instance, following that decision, Mark Ronson and RCA added five writers to the songwriting credits of “Uptown Funk” to avoid potential litigation.
“It used to be that melody and lyrics were the basis of all infringement claims, but now that’s fuzzier,” music industry lawyer Jay Rosenthal told the New York Times‘ Ben Sisario. “‘Blurred Lines’ has opened the door and made rhythm and beats and ‘feel’ perhaps proprietary, where before it was not the case.”
Led Zeppelin has had to change songwriting credits as a result of such lawsuits before. In 2012, the songwriting credit to the band’s “Dazed and Confused” was changed to include “inspired by Jake Holmes.” Holmes claimed that Page had heard the song when his band opened for Page’s former group The Yardbirds, and brought it to Led Zeppelin a year later. Though the court case was dismissed, Page and Plant settled with Holmes out of court. That decision cannot be presented in the “Stairway to Heaven” trial, according to the judge presiding over the case.
One important point: As with the “Blurred Lines” case, the lawsuit focuses on songwriting, not recording. So a jury is supposed to render its decision based on what was written on sheet music, not the recorded versions of each song. Songs may be played in court, however, accompanying testimony by experts presented by both sides in the trial.
