Did Dua Lipa ACTUALLY Plagiarize Levitating?

[@RICHFOW]

As a song writer myself, I find it virtually impossible to find a melody or chord progression that sounds good and has not been done before.

[@rendydevilzz]

I think same rules can be applied to all other intelectual creativities. It is really hard to be original in this day and age, everything is pretty much done so far.

[@chewnip86]

ye same

[@Suetheong6378]

They are only suing her because of money and fame. If the artist or band was a nobody I completely doubt they will even bother.

[@rajavlitra]

Save for jazz, maybe

[@suminshizzles6951]

Chord progressions you cant copyright. What will get Dua into trouble is the same melody and rhythm with nearly identical tempo and even a few words are the same. The songs are nearly identical and are very similar. So similar that when i heard the artikle song after i heard the dua song i knew she was in trouble.

[@TrapGod_JackofAllTrades]

Let's hope that no one ever actually manages to copyright a musical concept, because that would set back musical progress for decades.

[@GerardPerry]

I realize it's anathema to most people, but the best solution would be to do away with the concept of intellect property altogether. Stephan Kinsella, a libertarian patent lawyer, wrote a monograph-Against Intellectual Property-which lays out the case in a systematic way.

[@sacriste]

Done, Blurred Lines.

[@JohnLRice]

@@GerardPerry Stephan Kinsella seems like a big hypocrite? I haven't read his books but if he is actually against "intellectual property" why is he selling his many books for $5 to $200 each? He should just write them and then post a copy online and say please freely distribute! 😂 People just want free stuff and they don't care how much creators suffered to create it (time/expense/frustration/self doubt/rejection/starvation/poor health/poor living conditions/bad transportation/bad clothes/etc)

[@gingganggoolie]

@yourmanwatson I'm not sure it would change much about who makes money in the industry. The only artists that make money now are those with a dedicated fan base willing to support them.

[@gingganggoolie]

@yourmanwatson I'm far from a hard-line anti-copyright type, but I don't see how removing it would prevent artists from making money. Artists should be rewarded for their work, sure, but I don't think copyright is the way to do that

[@gregarmstrong2500]

I can attest to how easy it is to accidentally copy a song. My band wrote a new song a little while ago and we were excited to play it live. A week before the show, I listened to an album in a similar genre and the main riff in our song was a note for note copy of one of the songs on that album. Literally no one in the band had noticed (despite it being a pretty popular album in the genre that we had all probably heard before at some point). Musical genres sound the way they do because of patterns and tropes. If enough people are writing in the same genre, it's more or less guaranteed that those patterns and tropes will eventually manifest in the same way more than once.

[@dackattac]

I remember in college I wrote a song for a band I was in at the time and immediately after I thought "...this is a Bad Religion chorus. I couldn't tell you which song I inadvertently copied, but I bet Bad Religion could probably litigate if we released this." But I couldn't find a specific song that I note-for-note copied... until their _next_ album came out. The chorus I 'copied' was the one from "Before You Die", but it wasn't a song that existed when I wrote mine. (I hadn't seen them live or sought out any live concert footage that would have exposed me to an unreleased song.) People grossly overestimate the amount of malicious intent behind similar-sounding songs, the push and pull of tension/resolution of melody, harmony, rhythm, etc really can guide you to take similar paths as your fellow musical travelers.

[@Bree420]

@@dackattac imagine, if you had published your song first, with the right lawyer you might actually struck gold and get a settlement behind the scene lol (im joking)

[@gregarmstrong2500]

@@imnothb I'm not sure why we're suddenly talking about anyone's toe nails, but influence aside, I wasn't saying that they don't sound similar. I was simply stating that, just because they sound similar, that doesn't mean either party copied from anyone else. They were both just taking a set of commonly used ideas in the genre that they were writing and putting them together. There are only so many chord patterns that sound like disco funk. It's likely you'll be writing in the key of Bm or Em, as those are preffered keys for bassists (who tend to drive funk music). Your melody will more than likely be mostly composed of the notes in the pentatonic minor scale (so you've only really got 5 notes to choose from). You're probably likely to employ rhythmic language that is common in funk (otherwise, your song won't sound like funk) like, for example the charleston. There are thousand and thousands of songs released every year. If we start opening lawsuits every time the limited set of tools available to musicians happen to manifest in a similar order, the music industry is in a very bad place. We, as musicians, have to accept that this kind of thing is going to happen. Sometimes it's deliberate. Sometimes it's not. There's no way to prove either way. In every other scenario, we use "innocent until proven guilty". Why should it be different here?

[@noncatholiccatholicrat6309]

@@imnothb did you not read his comment??? It was literally a detailed explanation of how Dua or her team could’ve come with the a song completely similar to the other band’s song coincidentally. Just because millions of people listen to her doesn’t mean she has to appologygse for creating a song that is simple enough to have been created before. That’s how pop music works: it’s not original or complex(that’s what makes it popular, because it’s catchy). Therefore many pop songs have been written originally but are the same or similar songs. If you studied music theory enough you would understand this. You should focus more on why Dua’s song blew up more than the other bands song. A song, especially in pop music, has A LOT MORE to it then just the melody or chord progression. besides the differing influences within the production, Dua’s vocal tone, vocal ability, visuals, the way she marketed herself and worked to promote it, and the lyrics are all a big part of what made her song so successful. Pop music is like 1/8th the actual sonic part of the music.

[@visualdarkness]

Yeah, I was sitting at home trying to make a new riff. Played something simple that I was recording thinking it was awesome. It was a one note difference from Breaking the Law by Judas Priest and I just didn't realize it at the time.

[@connormccartney2953]

The better question is, why do so many songs that were written using the charleston have "moonlight", "starlight", and "all night" in them.

[@shanedsouza189]

Because the dual syllable rhyming pattern just fits like a USB cable

[@KayAteChef]

@@shanedsouza189 So... not the first time? Gotta flip it over? And then you realise you had it the first time but had to straighten up a bit?

[@snoozyq9576]

Because it is so romantic 💞

[@lutjemuller9753]

Certain phrases just work in a songwriting context. If you dont want to be particularly creative with your topline and instead its just supposed to sound good, then going for phonetically beautiful words that have a lot of rhyme options and also a certain "dreamy" aspect to them, like starlight/moonlight (night, life, right/alright + easy transition into time, fine, rhyme, mine, etc.) or desire (higher, fire) is pretty much a must. Just take a look at the -light, night, life, right chain and pop chorus is pretty much writing itself. Sure, those words have been used a hundred million times before, but they will used a hundred million times in the future aswell, because they just work too well and are to easy to utilize.

[@TheSteviebobevie]

It’s undeniably a cosmic groove

[@andrlop6772]

every time there's a plagiarism I think to myself "oh boy can't wait for the adam neely video"

[@merlinthetuna]

And conversely it's fun to see the thumbnail and immediately know there's a new spurious copyright suit afoot

[@redtwox9708]

Yep, saw Rick Beato's video a couple of days ago and instantly thought, "Can't wait to see what Adam has to say about this".

[@mathiasnyhamn9304]

Repetition legitimizes

[@savourymilkman8147]

its theft not plaigirism dont dick around this is bullshit

[@pleaseimjustahuman]

I guess you can wait because this video came out almost two years after the song came out

[@Kamex]

When I was studying sound and music tech in college and I had to study copyright infringement cases in music business (already having a bit of background of music theory beforehand) I couldn't help but be furious at watching lawyers grasp at straws to try to manipulate people in the courtroom. This is no different. Thank you for breaking it down in a way that's easily understandable.

[@mavfan1]

no need to manipulate anyone in this case, it's clearly infringement. I trust Rick Beato.

[@DaveYognaut]

@@mavfan1 The main point being that it doesn't infringe upon Artikal Sound System's song, which is what the lawsuit is about.

[@davidmiller9485]

@@SarcasticTruth77 yeah outcast should sue the bunch of them!

[@DaveYognaut]

@@SarcasticTruth77 I'm saying that it doesn't infringe upon the Artikal Sound System song, but it _does_ for the Outkast song. It isn't Outkast that are trying to sue Dua Lipa though.

[@rmv9194]

@@DaveYognaut Why Outkast may I ask. Outkast song is still sonically very different, doesnt have the same instrumentation, doesnt have the same drums, or the same vibe. I invite you to hear the three songs, you will find out Levitating and live your life are always identical, even when both melodies kind of sound like Outkast.

[@roomofmirros]

Litterally 80% of musical plagiarism controversies sound absolutely ridiculous when you actually know music theory lmao

[@dorkmork7349]

Such facts, especially once you learn about chord progressions are used over and over again

[@mobilenotherwise5000]

There's only so many notes on the piano, you're bound to play a similar melody anytime

[@mariokarter13]

And then you listen to someone that knows music theory explain why it's not copyright infringement and they sound like Vanilla Ice. "It goes ‘ding ding ding di di ding ding… ding ding ding di di ding ding.’ That’s the way theirs goes. Ours goes ‘ding ding ding di di ding ding… DING… ding ding ding di di ding ding.’ That little bitty change - it’s not the same."

[@青い-y5g]

@@mariokarter13 literally this vid lol

[@青い-y5g]

​@@mobilenotherwise5000 literally me most of the time when I try to write a song, few minutes later comes the realization

[@kitecorbin3914]

If you've ever gotten into a genre of music that you've never listened to before, (country, classical, etc.) And listen to a whole playlist by different artists . . . the songs all sound extremely similar, especially if you haven't heard the songs before or don't know the genre. That overall sound is what MAKES the genre, and your ears cannot differentiate because you are not yet 'trained' to hear the difference.

[@mechantechatonne]

For sure. Sometimes I'll listen to an album and literally I can't tell where one song ends and another begins.

[@ididsomeunspeakablethingsa4899]

@d R country road music is guilty of this

[@Lishtenbird]

It's not even limited to music. You can show someone a couple anime episodes, and they'll say they're "all the same"; but if you watched a couple hundred series, you'll start recognizing the era, the studio's style, which directors prefer what, and maybe even artist styles from the source material. Hell - we can go as far as "every [insert ethnicity] looks the same"... Humans operate on patterns, but to form them, you need experience to form those reference points - until then your mind will generalize everything into "the same" category.

[@anthonyfaiell3263]

Ok so, trained ear here, multiple years of music theory in college, played hundreds of gigs throughout my life with various different groups. Worked as a studio musician for years. . It's not about hearing or not hearing the genre. It is genre specific. Country all sounds the same because it IS all the same... Most pop genres are extremely generic, because they are specifically crafted to be that way. The majority of people who consume music are NOT trained musicians. What they look for in music is security and comfort, and that is achieved by making everything sound the same. It's usually generic backing tracks with vaguely relateable lyrics, because lyrics is really what people who have never studied music theory relate to. . Genres like classical are the exact opposite of this (for the most part). There were some generic composers, but a lot of composers created pieces from a scope of music theory, not public opinion. Therefore naturally, classical music is way more complex than the average modern pop song. And this complexity is one of the things that gives it identity and allows us to differentiate between them. . In other words, even if I have heard PLENTY (more than I would ever have wanted to) country and can tell the difference between songs I know... The core progression of the songs will most likely all be the same. Because that's how pop genres (genres made for the public, aka people who never studied music theory) work. . You don't see any of these traits in non-pop genres like classical, jazz, progressive, etc.

[@MsZzSmith]

⁠@@anthonyfaiell3263you basically said the same thing as kitecorbin, just with twice as many words, and a lot more snobbery. Lol

[@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403]

This is similar to when Katy Perry got sued for "Dark Horse". I loved the song, but when I heard the "original", I was certain she plagiarized. Until I heard the 15,000 other songs that used the same beat she did. Simply put, there are only so many chord progressions and chances are good, every song is a slight modification of another song already created.

[@rahelesousanabadi556]

I strongly agree

[@komfyrion]

I remember some time a few months ago I was humming to myself and improvising something in 7/8. I eventually landed on a pretty cool rhythm that I figured would be a pretty cool riff on guitar. I actually recorded my humming at the time and when I listened back to it later I realised it was basically just a slight variation of the main riff of "Them Bones" by Alice in Chains (exact same rhythm). I felt a bit embarassed for having inadvertedly copied a riff from a song, but I also think the "Them Bones" riff's rhythm is just a fairly cool rhythm in 7/8. It wouldn't have been copyright infringement if I used that rhythm in a 7/8 song. I also think the vocabulary in 7/8 is a bit more limited than 4/4 since a lot of stuff can feel too unintuitive and out there so that you can't really feel the groove anymore (not that that stops prog bands or jazz musicians, lol).

[@impermanence4300]

@@komfyrion you're not the only one. Every time I think I've written a cool riff while messing around it turns out it's actually a Bolt Thrower riff.

[@RAYsPG]

Unless you are polyphia

[@halycon404]

Meh. I always go back to classical on these cases. It's well documented, well out of copyright, and somewhere in the thousands and thousands of pieces of sheet music are the exact notes being litigated over. They weren't plagiarizing. They were paying homage to the czech composer Zelenka, or whomever. Every single time I've taken the time to look I've found an example well out of copyright. Pop music is just too.. and I don't mean this in a bad way... simple. Symphonies and concertos throw so many ideas at the wall and play with them there's always going to be a section of one somewhere that fits perfectly.

[@cvillalta]

from an improvisation standpoint i actually believe the story they told in the podcast, you could compose levitating without conciously plagiarizing any of the other songs. They took a common chord progression and rythmic pattern in the genre they were aiming for and they played a little with it. It is a huge coincidence, but it's possible

[@funkahontas]

Now, if the Artikal song had the descending melody from the beginning then yeah, they would have a case since those are 2 independent ideas, but just the melody and chord progression ? Seems like a cashgrab attempt and seeking their 15 minutes of fame.

[@bubbletea6923]

Ok I'm a classical guy. But honestly if they were copying a work, unless they were trying to tribute another composer or artist (like John Williams), wouldn't they at least try to hide it? Idk, a lot of music can be coincidental though, especially given the simplicity of pop music, limiting of rhythm will probably mean there becomes limited variations in movement (theoretically movement is basically almost entirely limited to arpeggiated and scalic movement). This was bound to happen at some time. Don't know how people compose pop music though, so...

[@anteshell]

It is, in fact, quite far from a huge coincidence for the exact reasons you said yourself: took a common chord progression and aimed towards well known tropes and elements from those genres and time period. Improvisation isn't exactly creating something completely new to you. It is you unconsciously remembering patterns you already know and applying them to what ever you are working on because you intuitively know that would work.

[@RandomGuyCDN]

The fact that the intro literally sounds completely the same doesnt seem like a coincidence

[@notyourdays]

@@RandomGuyCDN have you even watched the video?? it's obvious that both bands took inspo from otkast, at least dua was straight foward about it not like the other dudes who claim the sound as theirs

[@rustee.shackleford]

Given the degree of similarity, it is highly unlikely that the Artikal Sound System "Smoke & Mirrors" album art was created independently from "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City".

[@HarshvardhanKanthode]

The Vice city font style isn't copyrighted I believe

[@BrodinYT]

@@HarshvardhanKanthode It’s Just Satire. Lol

[@ameeshnarayan8016]

@@HarshvardhanKanthode meanwhile the whole game is inspired from scarface.

[@AfroGaz71]

@@BrodinYT poorly done though. Lol!

[@RC-md2yx]

@@ameeshnarayan8016 lol yes

[@5150crazyfun]

I've seen this happen more often lately. In most cases, the less successful artist or band are the ones suing for "infringement". With that being said, I'm certainly no musical expert, but it sounds to me like several songs use similar musical keys and notes. It's one thing to be influenced by other songs, but it's another to say someone ripped off your song because of a similar musical arrangement. Because all music is ripping off of other musical influences and sounds in some manner. There should be millions of lawsuits if the basis to sue is that one song sounds like another.

[@xyz335]

Technically, the band suing Dua should be sued for infringement too, considering they "stole" the beat, melody and chords from the Jackson 5 and Outkast. They're trying to sue Dua for doing exactly what they did. Only difference is they are nobodies so nobody could call out their "plagiarism".

[@elusivelectron]

Happens more than you'd think. Take this example. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6HMlaKhltCIaqs

[@philfitnesspt6139]

​@@xyz335dua lipa won the case it was thrown out as it should be as per your comments. The nerve of those poeple

[@20thCenturyPox]

I think we need a musicologist to explain how this Artikal Sound System song was ever on a Reggae chart

[@Santiino]

Its not a bad song and kinda better than levitating

[@clf400]

@@Santiino they could at least get a competent singer

[@yearnpill]

@@Santiino never say that again

[@Sergio-nb4hj]

@@Santiino Not the point. Point is it's not a reggae song lmao

[@LiamLynchPhotographer]

Because the original version came out with the old front-man of the band and, given what little I heard of his style and their recognition in such circles, and the venues and festivals they played, I am sure it made sense at the time. Their album (not the song) charted in April 2017, and then they appear live online in September without him, so I gather he left and they thought the band was toast, and didn't make hay at the time.

[@DorianDeLuca]

How lucky are we to be alive in a time when this kind of thoughtful, reasoned exploration of topics with broad influence is available to anyone and everyone? Outstanding work, as always, sir.

[@pred7949]

he works harder to consider himself Switzerland than to choose a side.

[@galileeo]

Not everyone speaks english though.. but i agree maybe in the future audio translations and subtitles will be automatized or something.. getting closer for everyone

[@keeptaiwanfree]

@@galileeo Uh, he’s not the only one in the world who talks about this subject… you can find people who speak all sorts of languages who are educated about this.

[@tubester4567]

Except he made a mistake when he said "Blame it on the boogie" was written/invented by African Americans, or was "culturally appropriated" by white people. The song was written by a white English guy, as were many of the Jackson's hits. The song credits for "Blame it on the boogie" says "Mick Jackson". Thats not the same person as Michael Jackson. People assume it is, but its not. Mick Jackson is a white English guy, he wrote and performed the song, it was released in the UK and charted. Then it was sold to the Jackson Family at a music trade event.

[@user-pk4sd9dd2w]

it sounds like Outkast should be suing due lipa

[@Saturn-lk6rk]

Theres not enough music notes in the world for EVERY song to be unique. EDIT: Apparently some People don’t understand what I mean. After YEARS there will not be enough music notes to create a song that doesn’t sound like another song. SECOND EDIT: It’s so funny to me that people are still fighting over this, I honestly just come back to read these replies because this shit has me laughing my ass off

[@PancakesTsuki]

I’m sure there is kinda a way for every song in the world to be unique but that would results in basically alien music nonsensical melody’s and such XD

[@redi6460]

@@PancakesTsuki yes 😂😂

[@Saturn-lk6rk]

@@PancakesTsuki well yes but at some point you’d think

[@seraphini1248]

it doesn't have to be unique, this was obviously stolen, how do you say the same rhyming lyric on the same note on the same beat, within a 3 year difference, the answer is simple.

[@redbitch3362]

Disagree

[@berries.0f.blu3]

Keep in mind the Star Spangled Banner has the Charleston rhythm multiple times (in Clarinet, it’s high F, high D, high Bb in Charleston as the first notes) Honestly, people these days

[@stizan9185]

Its a rhythm that has been used since forever, its also called Lombard or Scotch snap

[@SoundsOfTheWild3]

Its also in old Celtic music

[@kaysha]

60k songs per day. Of course there's gonna be similarities. But these lawsuits are baseless

[@Bussterr]

All versions of the song were uploaded in the last month except SoundCloud which allows for changing audio files

[@Allagi22]

Wtf are you talking about? It's very clearly plagiarized.

[@gymather3097]

You know that they is almost a never ending amount of music variations you can make, statistics and probability helps understand this

[@kaysha]

@@Allagi22 What the video till the end instead of coming here with your emotive comments.

[@reuben4721]

they are SO similar though. i guess it's just a very rare coincidence ig

[@guynakash]

What's fascinating about this is that people are still claiming copyright infringement for the most basic chord progressions and melodies as if they invented them, yes, it's 2020 and you're the first, brilliant, brilliant musician who thought about this sound and melody! Nobody else has ever heard of it before you came along, it took millions of years of evolution, thousands of years of music and countless artists to get to you, you wizard of notes and chords, to hook these 4 bars and improvise this, oh my god indeed, bravo.

[@erickzamora921]

You’re funny 🤣 keep writing

[@Dragoon960]

Right? I’m trying to remember the comedian, but he literally sings like 10 pop songs all with the same chords to the melody of Pachelbel’s Canon

[@erickzamora921]

@@Dragoon960 bo burnham ? Maybe poking fun at how most pop songs play into our love of simplicity and repetition

[@NotBaby]

Hasn’t nearly been thousands of years but ok

[@erickzamora921]

@@NotBaby how long has it been ? Curiously

[@finne0n]

Dua's album is called "Future Nostalgia" because it deliberately utilizes common motifs from earlier popular music (causing nostalgia) while combining it with modern music trends (from the future)...

[@arelizah]

ok but did she ask to use it

[@sam-ck3fk]

Yes u r right

[@theengineer_0]

This has to be pinned.

[@yvnswuqhqhqj]

@@arelizah dude at least she gave credit

[@dawidorlowski1620]

Oh i thought it was called that becuase it would be Nostalgia in the future

[@aidyleemusic300]

This is why song writers must record every writing session be it voice recorder or video. Awesome analysis & channel dude.

[@yaanno]

How on earth an incredibly simple chord progression can be "owned" by someone never ceases to amaze me. Maybe we should go into details like how they used a Roy Ayers vocal riff?

[@Breeze1]

Its the same chord progression, rhythm and melody

[@velenvskaelhas]

@@Breeze1 And the lyrics are bordering on similarity too, the Dua Lipa writers just gotta pay up and move on.

[@fridabear1874]

@janos hardi hm it's a little more than that buddy...and sadly easily paid off by overly paid popstars

[@StoutProper]

You’d be shocked how many words and phrases are owned by celebrities and corporations in the USA, to the extent that no one else can use them to promote themselves and/or their brand. Ridiculous but unfortunately true

[@yaanno]

@@fridabear1874 I get it. I'm not a musicologist. All I'm saying is it feels somehow wrong that musical structures and progressions can be owned. To me as an average listener these are different songs albeit they share similar structures. It would be much more fun if the pop scene would incorporate the classic hip-hop beef attitude instead of sending an army of lawyers after an other group.

[@starfox300]

It's interesting that 2 bands can have almost the same song but one blows up and the other is almost unknown. Really shows you how much image and marketing matters for your success

[@demoth]

same thing happen to "this is america" and "american pharoah". jase harley didnt sue childish gambino tho

[@DragonX5536]

@BlackSilhouette Touhou Hijack Lol! The biggest Touhou example would be Bad Apple for sure. From an rather unknown (not even Window Era) game to the biggest Touhou hit ever xD I doubt many even think it started out not even as a boss, but a mere stage theme.

[@stefan_4508]

I mean the production on dua lipas song is 1000x better and her vocals are much more punchy and catchy. Just cos the songs are very similar musically does not mean that they are of the same quality. Obviously image and marketing plays in but let’s not act like if the other song was marketed the same it would have done as well as levitating

[@ChrisParayno]

exactly! there are too many petty cases in the music industry.

[@RyuN100]

@@stefan_4508 auto tune lmao

[@akashita]

Music being the kind of derivative art form that it is, it's difficult to ever conclusively prove that any one artist originated a particular style, melody, or lyric. I think the larger question really is: What is the purpose of intellectual property law as it applies to music? How can we protect the hard work put into existing songs without making illegal half the process of music-making? We need more diversity both in culture and professions in this emerging field of legal philosophy to get to a more satisfactory understanding than we currently have.

[@captainkiwi77]

I mean at the end of the day copyright doesn’t protect your intellectual property it protects your right to profit off it. So if we simply make it possible to profit off ones music and not simply make 20 cents a month from spotify as a smaller musician, if being a musician was viable, then the copyrights systems function would gradually grind down. How many artists never want their stuff played by anyone else, if people actually thought like that the entire genres of jazz hip hop and rap would never have existed since they’re based on sample, reference, repetition of old material, and generally repurposing old music for new purpose. Truth be told I don’t think the copyright system is helpful, it mostly just hurts smaller creators cause bigger ones like Warner music can sue the ever living fuck out of you with an army of lawyers, while like Adam mentioned, it’s hard to just find a lawyer willing to sue a company like that as a layperson

[@matthewtanous7905]

The entire premise of these copyright claims is essentially that the “plagiarizing” artist somehow cuts into the profits of the “original.” Does anyone really believe that if it weren’t for Dua Lipa, everyone would be jamming Artisanal Cheese Balls or whatever?

[@meltedyakkystick3891]

​@@matthewtanous7905 Yeah, choosing a favorite pop artist is like choosing between Coke or Pepsi. They're pretty much the same thing. What distinguishes them is their brand and that's really what they're selling, so why should music be any different?

[@alar2266]

@@matthewtanous7905 Performance and writing credits are different things and this is about writing credit. In this case the people that are hypothetically cutting into the profits of the original artist would be songwriters credited with the track.

[@krjeff]

@@matthewtanous7905 The point is not that it's cutting into profits. The point is that someone should not be able to profit from your labour without compensating you for it. If there were no copyright, artists with more money and better marketing would simply make a bunch of cover songs (because it's easier to copy a song than to write a new one), market them, make a bunch of money, and leave the actual creators of the music with nothing. This would lead to people not bothering to make new music anymore because why would I expend the effort when a) I can be stolen from and b) I could just steal from songs that are already good.

[@thahardman]

Dude, this is an awesome analysis! Nice work

[@milanforever7014]

no it's not ahhahahaahahah

[@personmens]

@@milanforever7014 "i'll spam laughs so i don't have to say anything else and feel like i'm smart"

[@AdamNeely]

CORRECTIONS/ADDITIONS: 1. It is very difficult to find concrete information about the song Live Your Life prior to the date the lawsuit was filed, and there is a popular Tik Tok conspiracy going around that Live Your Life is a hoax, and didn't actually come out in 2017, and instead was created specifically after the fact to sue Dua Lipa. That's...probably no true - the song probably WAS on spotify at one point, here is the link. open.spotify.com/album/70G0t4AnDAFPs23TZJgIMY?fbclid=IwAR04--wx8lrWMT2vjaNAypdSUq4lNrP2ZH6LQ0vXHSP_dW6jX5slIouaz3g. We can't hear the song Live Your Life, but there was A song called Live Your Life uploaded in 2017 as part of this EP, but it was removed at some point. The band at one point had a different singer, the Jamaican singer Monsoon Bedward, but all songs the band did with Monsoon have been removed from streaming services for reasons that are unclear. Monsoon, née Denton, is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit alongside the other current members of the band. 2. Some people I'm sure will point out that Outkast's Rosa Parks is in a different key/harmonized differently than Levitating. This brings up 2 epistemic questions - is a song still a song if it is in a different key, or harmonized differently? Well (in the West anyway), yes! Mary Had a Little Lamb is still Mary Had a Little Lamb in the key of C, as well as Ab. It's still Mary Had a Little Lamb regardless of what chords are used in its harmony. So why would it be any different with Rosa Parks? Rosa Parks in still Rosa Parks in the key of G#m, as well as Bm, and it doesn't matter what chords go with Rosa Parks, it's still the same song.

[@inhalemnt]

7

[@marticosta]

It's interesting though that the guitars, the groove,the claps and the production sound similar in both the Live your life and levitating. Not to say they are the same because it's a very generic funky groove but it's worth noting.

[@benjamineneman4276]

Brief (silly, possibly pedantic) correction: these would be metaphysical/ontological questions (questions about being) not epistemic questions (questions about knowing). Epistemically, we'd be concerned with how we might know one song referenced or cribbed another; we are ontologically concerned with whether a song is still the same song if you make some modification to it.

[@Henchman_Holding_Wrench]

(tin foil hat) What if the hoax song was given the same name as the 2017 song? And they're trying to pass it off as the old one we can't find mentions of or listen to? (/tin foil hat)

[@SUNSHINE-t-m]

@@marticosta The late 10s were the era of the glittery funk revival thanks to Daft Punk Chromeo Bruno Mars etc

[@misterbigglesworth6320]

can you imagine if EDM artists were suing each other for their bassdrops sounding too similiar? It would be absolute madness. All music we make builds off of the past, and even barring that, let's not pretend like the themes and melodies for the hook are not absurdly simplistic. Literally any musician could come up with that... and seeing as there are hundreds of thousands of musicians in the world... it is crazy NOT to think that this is bound to happen. Artikal sound system has basically no fanbase on a large scale and are essentially nobodies. That's not to flame them, it's fine, but to think that anyone of status heard their music, let alone copied it, is beyond delusional.

[@BalaLedzep]

Ha Ha 😂😂😂😂

[@indy5280]

This also could have been an attention grab

[@cheesuscheese2001]

avicci comes back to sue marshmello

[@RandomGuyCDN]

TBH EDM has been taking old songs from the like 50-60's and remixing them for years when you look at the early times.

[@GoodCharacterBoy]

Hello have you ever heard of the word underrated? "Beyond delusional"? There are people who are into underrated songs rather than the trending ones And trust me singers hear more songs - Overrated, underrated than the normal people Cause its der feking CAREER!.... And who knows der might be also other artists including both overrated and underrated copying underrated songs knowingly with the thought "Not a large amount of people will find out" or "We won't get sued for dis".....

[@atoaster1209]

Adam just looks so, so, **so** tired of having to do this again.

[@needlessnoise]

it's the unshaven-ness that's helping with that effect

[@ashraffaridharis5570]

@@needlessnoise he plagiarized that effect off of me. Submitting lawsuit as I speak

[@natanstunes]

makes for entertaining videos though!

[@Arrrow54]

The person who picked up is himself tho...means he likes this kind of topic, huh?

[@laserbeamlightning]

It’s free views

[@infairvarona]

I’m still convinced that this video single-handedly helped Dua Lipa win her case, Adam supporting artists whilst also entertaining us, king sh*t!

[@philfitnesspt6139]

And dua lipa won the case! Yah!

[@dubulous4455]

what about the artists she copied?? who is supporting them?? This pop shit is generic as hell. Metal doesnt need to copy. Its this low iq shit that ha this problem.

[@augustaseptemberova5664]

Question for all the songwriters here: when you make a song olr melody, how do you know you're not repeating something you've heard before? Like, when I was young and decided, I wanna write a song (before knowing how to play any instrument lol), I picked up a guitar and made a very simple melody. Proudly, I played it to my brother ... and then he showed me that I'd copied the main menu melody from the first Tomb Raider game. I'd never even played the game, but I must've picked up that melody somehow, and I had no clue I was copying it. Does that happen to proper musicians too? Or do real musicians have some kind of musical memory and this type of unintentional copying doesn't happen?

[@bushmaster7810]

it’s a crapshoot straight up

[@vleaky3430]

Sometimes when it's too similar you simply change things up. But in general, if you turn music into a formula you're bound to get repetitive stuff that has been done before shich is what pop music is. It's formulaic and not very creative. Personally idgaf about the lawsuit. Popstars deserve it. Just here to get another musician's take on it.

[@Toni_Snark]

Same with any artistic or creative endeavor. We’re all influenced by what has come before, subconsciously or otherwise.

[@AnymMusic]

you don't. and even if you do, there's SO many songs out there that use other people's melodies, chords, arrangements, etc. Music has been quite a derivative artform for centuries

[@David-nw2un]

we just pray

[@kwadwothestan]

I just had a feeling that the similarity was more chord progression and rhythm based than an actual explicit melody copy. You explained it wonderfully.

[@matthewrice7590]

Man…I’m glad I saw this. I watched Beato’s video on this yesterday and came away thinking it was an open and shut copy-write case with Dua Lipa clearly being guilty. Even as a huge Outkast fan I did not think about Rosa Parks nor did I even consider whether or not the melody and progression in question had been done before prior to the 2017 track. Thanks for the perspective and the reminder to not take everything at face value.

[@sjeff26]

Yep, the case seems a lot weaker once you hear of the Rosa Parks composition, etc.

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

For real, I was in the exact same boat. I even left a comment on Beato's video saying how the two songs are so similar I find it hard to believe the writers of the Dua Lipa song didn't just take the other one, change a few things here and there, and call it a day.

[@WS12658]

Same. I saw a video that just compared Levitating and Live Your Life and thought "well that's pretty much a carbon copy", but yeah, having now seen how widely it's been used, I'd be surprised if OutKast's song was the first that used it...

[@rmv9194]

​ The Outkast song still has very different drums, instrumentation and vibe tho. Is OK too consider that MAYBE it wasn't plagirized, but you now are going to the other extreme just because Nelly said it. Both songs have almost identical choruses, too many coincidences, not only in the melody and harmony.

[@matthewrice7590]

@@rmv9194 I didn’t necessarily go to the other extreme because of this video. I’m mostly saying that after watching this video I came to realize that this is a bit more complex than “chorus sounds same, song must be stolen”. It’s far from the open and shut case I thought it was with all of this extra information in mind. Yes, the drums and “vibes” are different in Rosa Parks but the melody and chord progression are basically identical to both songs in question. So taking into account… - the chorus’ chord progression, motif, and melody all existed to a demonstrable degree before both songs in question ever existed - the creative foundations of Levitating are well-documented i.e. writing sessions in the studio, ad-libbing of a crude version of the chorus melody during writing, etc - Dua Lipa openly stated how she was inspired by Outkast while writing the album; this was far before the lawsuit - it’s highly unlikely that the 2017 track was on anyone’s radar; it can’t be listened to on streaming services and no one knows how long the track ever was available to stream, and real evidence that it was ever on a reggae chart doesn’t seem to exist (if there was some official Billboard reference that could be cited here to prove that it was on a major chart for any period of time then I think that would have some impact here; otherwise I just cannot imagine Dua Lipa and her writers ever having heard this song) …leads me to the conclusion that it is far more likely that Dua Lipa unintentionally aped the melody from Rosa Parks and not from this 2017 song whose writers likely also unintentionally aped the Rosa Parks melody

[@ivantandyo]

“There is always Prior Art” agree.. and i believe that past art inspires the new ones. And thats what makes Music Beautiful! ❤

[@louisrost]

Great analysis, totally refreshing to hear a compelling and valid argument for this kinda stuff :)

[@Xlornick]

As opposed to adding ammunition to beato's endless new music bad videos, I agree.

[@JankyTrader57]

That's Neely for you!

[@MarcoPolux]

Exactly my thought. This one really put Neely over my Master Beato.... the main premise is that there is almos always a previous.... and I agree with that, having only 12 tones to play with and only so many ways to make them interact....

[@lt_johnmcclane]

@@MarcoPolux the fact you have to place the two into some sort of competition is telling. It’s totally acceptable to watch both of them and appreciating them separately

[@MarcoPolux]

@@lt_johnmcclane you're right, I've been in a combative mode through all this pandemia..... But I didn't like Rick's analysis because he went to sueperficial and why give this 2017 band the ownership of this rythm and progression? it didn't convinced me.... Now, watching this video, Neely's deeper analysis rapidly produced another more accurate response with that example from the Outcast's song..... so there, it was like an eureka moment to an analysis I didn't liked about my respected music guru, Maestro Beato 👍

[@dsproductions19]

Just for the record, you do not need to be a lawyer to argue points like this in court. Expert Witnesses can be anyone with more knowledge in the subject than the average person, and are the only ones allowed to give opinions, and I think Adam Neely would qualify. I wish the defense in cases like this would bring in people like Adam as expert witnesses, honestly. Because every case that ends not in the defense's favor sets a precedent for future cases to do the same, and strengthens copyright restrictions on music.

[@donatellapetitti5888]

This is true! As a law student we often talk about the issues with expert witnesses and how reliable they are. There are a bunch of academic articles as well that question the use of expert witnesses in music plagiarism and copyright cases. There’s a famous case with John Lennon (if I’m not mistaken) where the judge made their decision on the “feeling” of the song. This area of law is super interesting, although I don’t see myself practising it in the future, it does change the way I think about the production of music and intellectual property

[@Str20ng]

I see what you did there….. “Just for the record…” he-he 😆😆

[@seraphini1248]

No he wouldn't. Either way it was a musicologist who testified Katy Perry did steal dark horse, and that melody was more emptier than this one, so no. You're wrong.

[@jonah.donohue]

Obviously

[@jonah.donohue]

@@seraphini1248 no u

[@mateusbez2669]

Great take. The only thing I still don’t understand is how that generic pop-dance song could be called “Reggae” in any universe.

[@scarab944]

True, the song in question is more pop-dance, but some of their other material is more in the reggae style. It's like when people call No Doubt a ska band. Their earlier stuff certainly qualifies, but not the songs they got known for.

[@progrockmorelikefrogc0ck157]

The same way Machine Gun Kelly is called alt rock

[@oneconsciousman1942]

Nobody is saying it’s a reggae song . It’s from a reggae band. Two different things

[@37thousand]

This is about the songs sounding nearly identical. Nothing to do with the genres.

[@orlock20]

Look at where Amazon shoves certain artists. Amazon has though Micheal Jackson, the king of pop, was a blues artist for instance.

[@Zothimus]

Excellent breakdown! Outkast respect!!

[@farlonmuentes6004]

people seem to forget that there are literally millions and millions of song around the world. this arrangement and beat could've been used way before to a non english song.

[@niknitro8751]

If you make a song with a 12 bar verse 12 bar chorus and a 16 bar bridge using only plain major, minor, diminished and augumented chords and only but not neccessarily changing on the 1 of each bar (12*4)¹² * (12*4)¹² * (12*4)¹⁶ = 1.7768447*10⁶⁷ combinations of chords. Thats without accounting for rhythm or melody just the chords alone. Thats about the number of stars in the observable universe multiplied with itself 3 times. That means to write all those songs you, me and everyone else alive today would have to write 2.2210558*10⁵⁷ songs . At a rate of 1 song a minute that would take us only 3.0571639*10⁴¹ times longer than the current age of the universe.

[@bitchface235]

@@niknitro8751 this is the answer we need for the assholes that act like there aren't enough musical notes.

[@farlonmuentes6004]

@@niknitro8751 idk how that correlates to my comment?

[@niknitro8751]

@@farlonmuentes6004 it relates in the sense, that yes there are a lot of songs and yes therefore it could be that you use the same chords or melodies as someone else before you. However if one makes a new song that starts with a minor chord then the minor dominant chord followed by the minor subdominant chord and essentially slaps a lazily syncopated 2 note melody that alternates between the 4th and 5th of the root note onto it, one should not act all to surprised, that someone already did that. Also this first someone who did that propably lived some 3000 years ago as thats pretty much the most basic thing you can do. You not gonna accidentaly stumble into writing a Song like Chega de Saudade or Fugue No1000 by Bach. In short Corporate Entertainment Industry can make millions of whatever shit they wanna sell, because their talent is selling not neccesarily creativity, but then at least make millions of some interesting stuff with creative ideas instead of raping my ears with the same 4 chords when i go to the supermarket.

[@xAsianish]

@@niknitro8751 Feel like this heavily assumes all chords are used equally likely and that all chords are equally likely to follow one another, which is not the case at all, especially in the genre of pop music. Really should watch the video to see the biases that play into songwriting. There's an infinite ways of writing an equation that equals 2, but you hardly see it in the form of .72 + .12832343 + ... + extra numbers = 2. It's usually just 1 + 1 = 2. Pure statistics/probability doesn't mean much without context.

[@adamdumas]

If I ever get sued for ripping off another song, I’m calling Adam Neely to the stand 😂

[@milanforever7014]

and you'll lose ahahahahahahahahaah cause dude has no point sorry

[@KebunH]

Could be subconscious plagiarism, I know from experience sometimes when you come up with a song you just have it in your head and don’t actually know if it’s from an existing song or something that came up to you. Usually when that happens and you work it out it wont end up completely the same though

[@sws212]

Yeah but still not their plagiarism, the influence is clear if she stated Outkast was the inspiration for the songs before anything was released. The guys suing are much less well known to even be heard of and even then, this is just an open door for them to get sued by Outkast when they win. They have no rights to claim anything from those chords.

[@Just1Bum]

@@sws212 Subconscious or not, intentional or not, plagiarism is plagiarism. I don't believe she did this intentionally. A team of writers created this song. Maybe someone from the team did it intentionally or unintentionally. Doesn't matter. If someone creates something first and then someone else comes along years later and "creates" the same thing, they have to pay up.

[@JulesPorta]

@@Just1Bum that’s just shit honestly, why pay up when they don’t deserve it, it’s clear that the inspiration came from outkast, even have the evidence from making the song showing so. that reggae band is just out for clout, the lawsuit went out to public at the exact time they were putting out an album. why now? after two years of dua’s successful album has been out.

[@derekward3512]

It’s not. The band who claims she plagiarized them are clout seekers who updated their song on SoundCloud. The whole thing is fabricated/

[@t3ss33]

also, with millions of musicians, the vast but limited amount of harmonic sequences and the human brain inclined to sensical imprecision, it is likely that two songs that are "basically the same" were written independently.

[@anthonybeyond]

@Adam Neely....Dude, I just fell out of my chair LMAO when you mention OutKast! Real talk, this case should be thrown out of court at this point.

[@wallyxl647]

If I were them, I'd drop the lawsuit, make a mashup on their live shows and release an actual hit. They have like 2 weeks TOPS of people's attention, otherwise they are gonna fade into obscurity with nothing but a countersuit lol

[@SayAhh]

RHCP incorporating LDWMJ into Danny California

[@haunter4708]

@@SayAhh LDWMJ?

[@velenvskaelhas]

Well then you'd probably be making a huge mistake, think of the residuals on the levitate song.

[@darknid158]

@@haunter4708 Tom petty has a song that uses the a very similar chord progression to Dani California but there’s 1 difference between the two songs, the 4th chord in the chorus is minor for RHCP, it’s major for Tom Petty

[@IAmValefree]

@@haunter4708 Last dance with Mary Jane

[@Forjugadname]

This stuff is going to happen more often and often as time goes on. They might as well just get around to saying no more new music is allowed to be made as all the possible sounds have been made and copyrighted.

[@Traumglanz]

Takes only 25, 50, 75, 95, whatever years disney says it takes … till everything becomes free again. It's just a short period in time, when you look at the big picture.

[@oliviastratton2169]

@@Traumglanz Yeah, I think just shortening copyright length back to 50 or 75 years again would help things a lot. If music up to the 50s or 70s was public domain, that would give artists a lot more creative freedom.

[@kikipeterson7886]

The way people are trying to justify copying songs because artists today aren't original at all lmao

[@hithere4289]

@@kikipeterson7886 how about you come up with something original and pleasing that doesn’t get close to any song pattern created in history. I can wait

[@kikipeterson7886]

@@hithere4289 I hope dua lipa is paying you well

[@crimfan]

The entire point of Future Nostalgia was, well, nostalgia. It drew on electro disco and dance music going all the way back to the 1970s and earlier. This meant lots of quotes of overall feel, explicitly, throughout the entire album. But I think this kind of suit is often some opportunistic scavenging, and this one certainly looks that way.

[@johnmichaelb1]

REALLY oppotunistic considering Dua Lipa herself said OutKast was an inspiration for the album

[@JayBigDadyCy]

@@johnmichaelb1 you don't honestly think she writes this stuff all by herself do you? Sure she has a part, but she's more like the face of a product. There's 3 other people that wrote it with her. She can say whatever she wants about inspiration, but it's not really her say at the end of the day. That's how these major labels work. I like her as a person and she's an OK singer, but she's not a songwriter.

[@nicholaspaat7302]

@@JayBigDadyCy The entire process of making the album is well documented though. There is very little area for them to be found guilty of songwritten plagiarism when not a single producer, writer, Dua herself, etc. that went out of their way to copy elements of Artikal's music. The melody, words, chorus, all of them simply just come off as common language and theme that anyone can come up with independent of others

[@deadfisher0000]

On the one hand I think this chord progression and melody is generic enough that this shouldn't be a case. But you can't just say "oh the album is called future nostalgia, it's all about ripping things off" like that would make it ok. The artistic vision for the album is kind of irrelevant from a copyright standpoint.

[@youtubestyle293]

Madonna made an entire album like this openly plagiarized abba, ace of base etc Am I wrong?

[@miketkong2]

I used to try really hard to create only original beats and melodies and whatever. Now, I just try to follow the feeling and be as true to that as possible with the belief that we're all just tapping into the same thing anyway. So it's not so much about being original as tapping into that Original Source as purely and deeply as possible. Do that and nothing else matters. Anyway, great video as usual!

[@bgosl]

This is a really good analysis. It's extremely easy to go "hey, A totally plagiarized B! here, listen to the two together, they're basically the same" - which ignores all other context. I'd love to see one of the artists in "The 4 chord song" try to sue every other artist that came after them and made a four-chord song with the same progression. Also "they sound the same" is an extremely vague concept, which can mean anything from "literal sampling of everything" to "a background melody is kinda similar but everything else isn't". Good job for highlighting both of these issues!

[@esthersmith3056]

"they sound the same" can be an extremely vague turn of phrase, but it's not in this particular case. the context argument is the one to go with here, the similarities really cant be ignored lol; it's very specifically the context (that none of these choruses bring any creative twists to the most basic building blocks of their genre) that makes it non-plagiaristic.

[@Chris-MusicTheoryAndFretboard]

Rick Beato seems to WANT things to be true due to his disdain for today's music. Rick's analysis was so lazy in comparison to Adam's. Bravo Adam.

[@idontwant2beasoldiermama241]

You missed the point of the video my dude, they do sound virtually the same, but the chord progression is nothing unique, the strumming is a common standard, and the vocal melody was actually inspired by other artist, basically, it's all a coincidence

[@whatsup7535]

@@idontwant2beasoldiermama241 We may as well sue anyone that tries making a 70's beat.

[@olartio2185]

They sound the same in this case isn't vague at all. They sound exactly the same . Stop dk riding

[@markbradshaw7282]

Another great breakdown! I'm noticing that with every one of these crazy plagiarism accusations is that they are almost always levied against pop songs, in particular. And I think it makes sense when you really break down why that is. Pop music is simple, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way. That's what makes it so strong a lot of times. Finding ONE good rhythm, ONE simple melody, ONE simple pattern, etc. is essential to pop music. "Less is more" is the common philosophy with that genre. So when you approach songwriting that way, chances are very likely that someone has already done something VERY similar before, but the elements that appear to sound the same are probably so simplistic and fundamental that it makes it hard to definitively prove that YOU are the one who owns that or that YOU are the one who first came up with it. For example, if you're writing a chorus that uses the standard 1, 5, 6, 4 chord progression, there are only so many melodies and harmonies that you can squeeze out over the top of that because certain melodic phrasings tend to lend themselves to that sort of progression. At this point, someone has done just about everything before (which is what happens in cases like Olivia Rodrigo vs. Paramore). It's one thing to accuse the latter song of being unoriginal or uncreative, but it's a whole new thing to try to claim that the melodies and chords are OWNED by the one who did it "first".

[@Robloxiokoj]

me to

[@seraphini1248]

Nothing in this video discards the fact Dua lipa stole it

[@nondescriptcat5620]

@@seraphini1248 cry more about it.

[@seraphini1248]

@@nondescriptcat5620 ok Adam

[@tomwilson2112]

Agreed. While the whole song is derivative, that's fine. Music is becoming more and more derivative, as music is becoming a language of its own. Want to make someone sad? Here's a theme. Want to get them excited? Here's a theme. The other day, I watched a piece of television that was super erotic... but it was literally just a close up of a woman cutting tropical fruit. All you saw was her fingers, the knife, and the fruit. The entire erotic charge of the scene was *the music that was playing.* In this case, Dua has built a song that conveys a very specific *feeling* by combining melodies and rhythms that have all been done before, but which combine to form something new. We could also look at the first part of the melody line, "If you wanna run away with me / I know a galaxy ...". That sounds a bit like the "whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother" line from "Stayin Alive". So yeah, this song owes its existence to at least two other pieces of music. That doesn't mean she should pay them royalties. What people forget is that a few bars from a song is *not a song*. Courts need to stop awarding people millions of dollars for bits and pieces of music, especially when those bits and pieces have infiltrated popular culture to the point where they are themselves building blocks of other music. Look at the visual arts: you can make a collage using other pieces of art, yet the collage itself will be "original" and stand on its own. It can be said a song is a collage of other, smaller pieces of music. That's what matters: the big picture, not just the little details.

[@yari139]

Dua Lipa’s whole album samples songs from the 70s all the way through the 90s. So yeah her songs sound similar to a lot of songs. And honestly, that reggae band’s song sounds like a cover from a 70s song that I can’t quite put my finger on.

[@bubbly.pancakes4512]

Wiggle and Giggle All Night?

[@hyperspaceexplorer5594]

"samples" song mean copying with minimal changes. Just too close including lyrics though. Dunno if Dua Lipa's fans will feel the same on defending her if the roles were reversed; an "unknown" music band got inspired by oldies music and the band got sued by big artists.

[@roberttallafer2299]

@@hyperspaceexplorer5594 Normally it will never happen in reverse because there is nothing to be gained in suing an unknown group. If they become somewhat popular then maybe or if the song is very obviously plagiarised.

[@Miguel-ly4bm]

He forgot to mention Miguel Bose

[@wadespencer3623]

@@hyperspaceexplorer5594 "Dunno if Dua Lipa's fans will feel the same on defending her if the roles were reversed; an "unknown" music band got inspired by oldies music and the band got sued by big artists." I wouldn't defend her in that case. This toxic shit is bad no matter who's doing it. I hate Dark Horse and Blurred Lines, doesn't mean that the lawsuits against them had any merit.

[@cmyk8964]

The “I’m levitating” scale (F♯ E D B A) is also the same melody used as the main riff of Unity by TheFatRat (B A G E D), except that’s in swing time. They’re both the 5th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, and 7th of their respective minor keys.

[@awilddragonfly8298]

Where is it in unity?

[@cmyk8964]

@@awilddragonfly8298 It’s the main melody. You can’t miss it.

[@pete5516]

@@cmyk8964 yep, haven’t heard that song in many years but as soon as I read your comment I knew exactly which part you are talking about.

[@Edgeperor]

It’d be so stupid but I’d love to see thefatrat sue someone

[@ilyquackio]

@@Edgeperor well he got copyrighted for his own song so idk

[@os4b4]

also, the 2017 version's claim is suspicious because you can't find it anywhere except on soundcloud, where you can change the sound of a song while keeping the date anyway. I think I saw that on soundcloud

[@P4ulsc]

yes, and even more suspicious is that the song and that album used to be on spotify, itunes and apple music. You can still find links of the songs to those platforms, but they deleted them from every platform before the lawsuit lol

[@bizarrekimten]

Yes!! On soundcloud you can *edit* your song where you can literally change your entire song, and of course, the date stays the same. This is a bad scheme to attempt to fish dua lipa of her money, they’re going to lose.

[@IgonDrakeWarrior]

Interesting

[@riddiculedridlersgirlfrien5671]

Ahh!! I thought I was the only one wondering if this was the case!!!

[@RaheezieYasha]

They better keep revision records at least in their own damn records (Soundcloud), otherwise that is absolutely stupid

[@nvrmltice]

I love musical similarities, I think they add some fun when you discover a similar melody, progression etc. Even three of my favorite artists ever (Demetori, Ishiwatari, Kai Hansen) have a LOT of copied riffs in their songs and nobody says anything. It seems to me that this one is a case of pop artists wanting more money

[@yoda9256]

or because one song become stupidly popular and another band essentially created the song…

[@PaulAllen6304]

"If you wanna runaway with me...." This part I suspect has been plagiarised from "Simarik" by the lengendary Turkish singer, Tarkan. Please do listen to it. The similarity is UNCANNY.

[@silent_simulator9590]

Are u nuts? "Similarities"? Lmao...yeah..why should not someone steal your ideas, make millions out of it and you stay as poor as you always were. Sounds completely logical to you, right?

[@nvrmltice]

@@silent_simulator9590 have fun trying to be more famous than poor Judas Priest copying their riffs like all of the ones I mentioned did

[@silent_simulator9590]

@@nvrmltice you really didnt get the point....poor you...

[@sean6721]

dude you did a great job of convincing me at the beginning it was stolen and then FLIPPED me SO FAST. Nice work dude. Very well thought out and concise.

[@kikipeterson7886]

It's called Hegelian dialect

[@dougdrazga4461]

Just noticed this when comparing "Arjen's Bag" by John McLaughlin, "Follow Your Heart" by Joe Farrell (which is credited to and includes McLaughlin) and "Day's Eye" by Soft Machine (which does neither). So, this isn't new, and "there's always prior art" is a great way to describe it.

[@candideggplant1575]

Songs that are meant to get people dancing probably are going to have "all night" "feel alright" "live life" "all the time" Something that encapsulates a good feeling forever, not "I hate the world" "I'm so sad my heart could burst" and "everything is wrong in the world"

[@fajaradi1223]

Yep, just like most of country music talking about boots, beers, trucks, ranches, and many other typical things.

[@NotesNNotes]

unless you're Bo Burnham and you can pull off "a big ol muthafuckin duffle bag of shit"

[@drpibisback7680]

Well now, someone's clearly never listened to Post-Punk.

[@katzea.a7880]

@@drpibisback7680 speaking about post-punk, sad angsty lyrics are part of the experience across the genre just like happy sounding ones tend to be attributed for pop

[@simenqi4596]

@@fajaradi1223 Ram Ranch

[@hazelness14]

When I was younger I felt supremely bothered at hearing the first part of the chorus of “Obsessed” by Miley Cyrus because I thought it sounded too similar to the first part of the chorus to Celine Dion’s “Where Does My Heart Beat Now?” (mainly because I was a huge Celine Dion fanatic). Watching these videos now and writing songs for myself makes me less hard on artists because I know how hard it can be to truly come up with an original melody. (Also had to realize at some point that a lot of artists don’t even write their own songs so it’s silly to be angry on behalf of the artists themselves, like I was with Celine…)

[@Sleepdriver1984]

It's actually pretty easy to come up with original melodies

[@hazelgascoigne4712]

i remember coming up with a cool melody while i was cycling. i was really excited and immediately recorded it with my phone to not forget it. few days later i listened to green day and realized i just accidentally took their melody. this happens really easily.

[@asking_the_empire1452]

Wasn't this an espiode of Jonas? 😂😂😂

[@ericainbloom]

Nothing is original. Ideas have been reused and repurposed for years in every single industry. Fashion, literature, music, television... your video did a great job of proving Dua Lipa's case. Maybe outkast needs to look into Artikle's song? or whatever their name is.

[@taekatanahu635]

Heck, even I have accidentally copied a song and I'm not a professional musician / songwriter. It is rather bizarre feeling though. I once wrote a riff - which to be honest wasn't even any good - just to hear a song with the exactly same riff playing on my father's Spotify playlist half a year later.

[@cesar6447]

It's exact that you are not professional musician that it's normal that you're music sound like other, but someon with experience and studies should not

[@cmelch]

I used to fiddle around with electronic music and had written a fun little dubstep track but never finished it and had forgotten about it. Until I heard a larger artist come out with something that had a section that sounded EXACTLY like what I had done. I even pulled out the old project and played the comparison for a friend and he was shocked at the similarity.

[@NotQuiteFirst]

I spent about 15 years thinking that I had come up with a great guitar riff (me an amateur strummer) until I was watching a Rick Beato video one day and he casually played the same riff and mentioned it as _Them Bones_ by Alice In Chains 🤣😂😅

[@taekatanahu635]

​@@cesar6447 What I mean by a professional is a person who creates and plays music for their living. I have been playing guitar for 15 years and in terms of playing I'm certainly qualified enough to be a professional, but I have absolutely no interest to pursue music as a career. I have professional musicians in my family, but I personally like guitar playing more as a hobby. The point was that those who get their living from music probably spend more time creating stuff than I do, therefore increasing the likelihood to write something similar than someone else has already created.

[@taekatanahu635]

​@Closettismial It certainly felt rather bizarre. 😄 Not only because we both had come up with the exact same musical idea, but because I thought it was awfully boring and threw it almost immediately into a trash bin, figuratively speaking, whereas the other person apparently thought it was good enough to write an entire song around it. That is probably the weirdest form of flattery I have ever experienced, although of course in the end what is "good" and "bad" is entirely subjective what comes to music. But maybe it made me contemplate my life choices just a little haha.

[@newguy5761]

Love the part of all 3 bands harmonizing in the same key together HAHAHA

[@StarlightCelestine]

Same 😂

[@deathberry74]

So whenever I hear Levitating, the melody always creeps towards another song that I can never remember. But I just did: it’s Staying Alive by the BeeGees! The chorus/pre-chorus bit. So yeah, more examples of how it’s not exactly the most unique sounding melody I guess.

[@larissabrglum3856]

Both melodies are based on a simple minor-key downward scale and are set over a disco beat, so they do end up sounding somewhat similar.

[@godspeedhero3671]

Yeah, there were quite a few songs that came to mind when I first heard Levitating like Cake by the Ocean and some old disco songs, but Levitating is so refreshing that I honestly didn't mind the reiteration.

[@adanactnomew7085]

Yeah its true

[@deathberry74]

@@godspeedhero3671 it's true though, it's so catchy that it stayed in my head for ages even without me ever hearing the full song

[@finnlabel]

Stayin’ Alive was the first melody that came to my mind from both Levitating and Kiss Kiss

[@fritsvanzanten3573]

Finally, I was instantly attracted to the Dua Lipa song, and watching this video, I realized it's because of that final bar ('I'm levitating'). It seems reasonable to me to think that's the twist that made it make more money than the 'common', less inspired bar in the (claimed) 'original'.

[@nicojar]

Don't overthink it, honey. I'm pretty sure you think you came with a smart comment but you like a song with four chords. If you need one more note to be "instantly attracted" and think that's why it made money, rather than the doll singing it and the way she moves, you live in a musical desert and it's time you travel and listen to more (different) music.

[@CanItAlready]

​@@nicojarYou're telling on yourself. I liked the song without having ever seen Dua Lipa. It's got a bounce that's missing from the other two songs.

[@godspeedhero3671]

Yeah, idk when I first heard Levitating, I was like, "Ah a riff of a classic song type." I didn't feel like they ripped anymore than any artist. Cake By the Ocean was my first thought as to a the most recent modern example of such a song, so I'm glad you included that.

[@andrewlitvinov7266]

Realistically, all art is derivative and the idea of owning it on the conceptual level makes no sense. And that is even before we get into issue with intellectual property in general.

[@crnkmnky]

💯

[@delta5160]

couldn't agree more

[@codygarland6365]

you have a scary ability to completely change my mind about things like this in under ten minutes. you should definitely try and offer yourself up as a expert in court cases like this

[@peterpike]

While I would agree he's an expert, a court might not. You have to establish certain credentials to be considered an expert. I'm not familiar with what those would be in musicology, so he might already meet that standard, but it's also possible they would require him to have specific doctorates, etc. This is legitimately to help protect defendants so that random people can't just claim to be experts and b.s. their way through something by using linguistic skills to fake it.

[@dangelobenjamin]

@@peterpike Adam could be awarded an honorary doctorate if he did something groundbreaking. Musicology is one of those fields where amateurs and historians/record keepers can contribute just as much as professionals. It's not a hard science like physics.

[@milanforever7014]

he would lose ahahahahahahahahahahahah

[@Weeela]

Wow, amazing and really informative breakdown of this case. I was baffled how this was NOT a copyright infringement but hadn't even thought about the similarities to Rosa Parks (how did I not hear that from the beginning?!). Thanks for deepening my music knowledge!

[@polliec8443]

As someone from the UK around the same age as Dua Lipa, it is entirely plausible for her to subconsciously think of "kiss kiss". The Holly Valance remake was very big when we were kids and it's a classic of the 2000's pop era.

[@anidiot9831]

I saw someone mention that you can completely replace audio files on Soundcloud without it changing the date shown, so the fact that the only other recordings are from after Levitating kinda makes this whole thing even fishier.

[@BrunoniTube]

really?

[@anidiot9831]

@@BrunoniTube Yeah. Kind of a stupid feature, if you ask me, but I can't stop SoundCloud from being dumb.

[@BrunoniTube]

@@anidiot9831 that's against so many security practices.... especially in this business

[@chodeoriki4113]

Wait…. What? That’s completely cracked wtaf.

[@NotQuiteFirst]

It would be such a crazy twist if it turned out that A.S.S. were trying to pull a fast one by ripping off Levitating and then replacing the Soundcloud file and trying to gaslight the music industry to make some quick settlement bucks - but then they get found out, countersued by Dua Lipa for them stealing _her_ song, and A.S.S. end up having to argue it's just a common chord progression and ryhthm

[@AlexMiller-sd5vk]

I am going to show this video to my wife! I told her levitating sounded JUST like Cake by the ocean, but I couldn't put into words exactly how.

[@Koszika]

Such a cool thing to read, thinking of your wife, wanting to share with her an opinion, and even stating it in a youtube comment 💜

[@tahahagar7664]

@@Koszika lol yeah very wholesome and cute 🥰🥺

[@arthuredens]

The end of Cake has the chorus to Levitating

[@rkay.gaming]

The two painting/rectangle pieces on the wall behind you are skewed and triggering my OCD. Almost felt like my head is spinning. :) Fascinating to hear how you analyze music and how deep the research goes into it.

[@Macalaka]

her producer played those chords and then she improvised a chorus, i can see her subconsciously copying the outkast song, i can also see her just taking the best path musically because its just natural to go for what sounds good?

[@talkswithvigy7860]

Yes subconsciously

[@carlosethangodinez6656]

Dua Lipa chorus Levitating while DJ Snake Middle break.

[@simethigsomethingidfk]

Imagine if we had copyright claims like this in every kind of art. Like you draw a oil painting portrait of a girl and get sued by every artist who ever touched a paint brush for clearly ripping off their style. You make a sitcom and get sued by every single other sitcom in existence for clearly ripping off the same story beats and characters. Its just dumb and kinda shows how legally insane music companies have went in recent years

[@radhikapatil1986]

But when songs sound so similar to common person who doesn't understand anything about music theory it's easier to make a case.

[@ebbandfloatzel]

@@radhikapatil1986 I would consider myself a common person with minimal understanding of music theory... I even just listen to a lot of Japanese and game music. But it was immediately apparent that this was a gross misuse of genre tropes. If you EVER work on anything creative in your life, you gradually understand that the fundamentals lay the groundwork for you way more times than not. Even Melody and rhythm, the most expressive part of music, still have to somewhat work with the progression and beat. But pop music? Yeah, throw all that expressive stuff out of the window. Now you have new rules that further restrict your creativity: it has to be easy to remember, typically simple for that reason, and catchy. Should probably be a song about romance or sex, sometimes but only optionally behind a metaphor, too. You're going to find similar pop songs, the same way you're going to find similar landscapes. There's only so many ways you can draw the Ocean, but there sure is a lot of it to draw.

[@radhikapatil1986]

@@ebbandfloatzel hmmmm i guess. But clearly they both drew "inspiration" from the original song published in the 90s. And there's difference between inspiration and blatant copying.. anyways i love Dua's song.. it's catchy.. i wish her success in coming years.

[@yourmothersfavourite]

No, because art is much less theoretical and calculable, you cannot have "notes" in art, and "style" is again subjective, while frequencies, tempos, melodies, rhythms, etc. are not. Also, for that oil painting thing to be true, you'd have to be making money off the painting. And the original would have to be sufficiently "original" itself and you'd have to be very similar to it.

[@kiwiboy1999]

They're still all unique songs despite the numerous similarities. I think and feel completely different things listening to each of those three songs regardless of if the melody is the same. Music is about context.

[@austinz9310]

This is pretty much exactly how I feel about all these copyright lawsuits. It’s super frustrating that people seem to ignore this aspect of music when talking about it. Seems like the discourse usually revolves around people wanted to take shots at some successful artist.

[@swankhood]

It's not unique if it copies large portions of the song. It's plagiarism.

[@austinz9310]

@@swankhood if we step outside of the lens of art as a commodity, we would actually call it inspiration, allusion, interpolation etc. Throughout all of history art has drawn from previous art. Only now that art is seen most importantly as a way to make money, do we consider it plagiarism. Beyond all that, the point is that Dua’s song has value, it’s a good song, and just because other songs sound similar doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have value. Dua’s voice, lyrics, production, vibe and artistic intention all have value that transcend the notes on a page. Covers are note for note ‘copies’ of songs but they still often have value in their own right and can even surpass the original.

[@swankhood]

@@austinz9310 Bullshit. You can say anything as eloquently as you want. This generation can't admit to obvious and blatant copying. Yall just keep enabling and making excuses for your Idols. And now you'll tell me how you aren't from this generation and you are older. Blah blah blah

[@radeklew1]

@@swankhood If it's not unique then you can't tell the difference between the songs, so don't listen to Outkast or Dua Lipa and only listen to The Charleston--there's a nice 1961 recording by Chubby Checker. In fact, I bet that every rhythm and chord progression you've heard had been used in a composition by 1900, so why not only listen to classical recordings? If timbre and emotional and cultural context doesn't matter, then all modern music made after that is derivative, so why listen to any of it? Gen X shouldn't have to 'admit' to anything, because Rosa Parks is a completely different song from The Charleston.

[@Clara-uo9lj]

Thank you for digging deeper into things. Usually ot works this way: fans are gonna support, haters will use the opportunity to hate. Settled

[@adammathieson_]

That dotted 8th note to 16th note rhythm actually dates even father back than the Charleston. It’s also knows as the ‘Scotch snap’ and has been used in Scottish folk music for hundreds of years.

[@MisterAppleEsq]

Is the Scotch snap not the other way round: a semiquaver then a dotted quaver?

[@stizan9185]

Scotch snap or Lombard rhythm, same thing, different name

[@vorrdegard2176]

Goodluck with that

[@haz4dc394]

Well if he had mentioned that, he wouldnt be able to use his little racial narrative.

[@chuzzmachine]

that doesnt fit the narrative fam

[@luisengelmo]

Adam, the way you visually present and compare both songs is just "PHE-NOOOMENAL" , as Rick Beato would put it. Hats off!

[@severussid5856]

At this point Adam Neely needs to be the music lawyer for the industry. Man, the research you do and the details you go into.

[@milanforever7014]

except for he's wrong

[@RandomVidsforthought]

​@@milanforever7014 😂

[@TheAstroG]

@@milanforever7014 L

[@milanforever7014]

@@RandomVidsforthought he is wrong.. the songs are identical and his points are not valid.. end of

[@granthoover9045]

@@milanforever7014 yup. It’s ridiculous. Also…..why does he keep injecting race into it? Multiple times he says “just a white reggae band” and “stealing from black creators” like bro, what does that have to do with anything??

[@nitroblc]

Hey that was a great analysis on the lawsuit, really broke it down for me! Thanks man!

[@michaelcorbett4236]

Dua's demo recordings seal the deal really. She is reacting to a tune and organically adding a melody from her own experience rather than having a list of tunes and saying "okay I'll pick that one". Now you can come close the bone sometimes but like you say there are so many phrases and tropes it really comes down to thin slicing these days.

[@seraphini1248]

That was an obvious or stunt. Jesus, you're gonna ask if that's Kim Kardashian's real boobs and butt.

[@joeurbin7235]

That don't prove Jack. U don't know that was da first time they got 2gether n wut they listened 2

[@HarrDarr]

@@joeurbin7235 no, but it would be an incredibly bad look if these were presented in court and it turns out these people falsified evidence and perjuried themselves.

[@ADoseofBuckley]

"It may have once been available that way but it isn't any longer" sounds like someone didn't renew their DistroKid membership (as they probably made less money from streaming royalties than the DistroKid membership costs)

[@Angelstarwarrior777]

cool to see you here buckley, and you're probably right about that lol

[@elbuhdai605]

That's why I go with distributors that only have a one-time fee. If I'm operating at a loss because nobody pays for music (including streaming services), at least I'm not gonna keep losing indefinitely. Also hi Buckley, fan since 2012.

[@jackielaurens]

@@elbuhdai605 any recommendations on those distributors? thinking about being an indie artist but it is so hard 😔

[@codyrobichaudofficial]

@@jackielaurens Depends on what your intentions are. CD Baby is a great distributor that charges a one time fee for a song or an album. If you plan to release full albums or even EPs at a lesser rate than go for CD Baby or similar one time payment sources, but if you want to release more frequently in a year like singles, EPs and full albums and have the freedom to do so as much as you want in a year, then go for an open option like Distrokid.

[@elbuhdai605]

@@jackielaurens as Cody said, I use CDBaby. In a business with next to no guarantee of financial gain, I'd always prefer to take a one-time loss over a perpetual one. My first album made enough to cover the cost of publishing it. Barely. But at least that small profit never turned into a loss like it would have by now if I were using a subscription.

[@paolob.5667]

I've been waiting for this video, thank you Adam for it! The controversy sounded pretty iffy from the start, especially in this landscape with more and more frivolous lawsuits. I think that now I have a better understanding of the subject. Your video was really helpful!

[@francescaolson2872]

This was an incredible analysis. Thank you.

[@e_j_]

4:08 what my fever dream/sleep paralysis demon sounds like

[@sergep71]

"The DNA in every song lies in another song. All creative ideas are derivative of one another". -DJ Questlove Well said.

[@teolandon225]

KZbin comments on these two songs have gotten vapid. People claiming they're music experts and that there's absolutely no dispute about the song being a ripoff. Thanks for bringing a nuanced take to the people.

[@rmv9194]

Still, the are way too similar to dismiss it as a coincidence.

[@poopfartlord9695]

@@rmv9194 Did you watch the video? It could very easily be a coincidence, considering the plaintiffs song is completely derivative of that OutKast song, and Dua Lipa said she was inspired by OutKast. How could you possibly think it's more likely that she took inspiration from song random underground reggae band compared to being inspired by fuckin OutKast... And buddy, the creative process was documented too.

[@kyranlewis4759]

@@poopfartlord9695 The "creative process" could have just have easily have been fabricated to cover their tracks, I'm not saying this is definite by any means but certainly a fact to consider. And when you think about things like chance and probability, the fact both songs have a virtually identical chord progression, basically the same melody and something as simple as the feel is the same, the likelihood of this all coming together by chance seems very slim, possible but every Tom, Dick and Harry can see the songs are pretty much the same. And yeah Dua Lipa may never have seen the song but her songwriters may well have

[@Mateocabrera2389]

@@kyranlewis4759 if they did steal it they made the song ten thousand times better. Those dude’s vocals would’ve put me to sleep before the second verse hit

[@kyranlewis4759]

@@Mateocabrera2389 I'd agree Levitating is a better song, better produced, verses are a lot better, the yeahs get very tiresome after the first 30s. However, Live Your Life had really good potential at the start and if they'd added more variation and better vocals/lyrics, add in better production it would easily have been better than Levitating. But it wasn't.

[@housebandthexenos2569]

Even if Artikal loses they win from the publicity. This is a scary proposition because other artists will see this happen and is actually bad for artists. Any song that gets even slightly big will probably need to be accompanied by a legal team to protect them from this. There's only 7 notes in a scale! Unfortunately at this point melodic copyright is obsolete. There's even a group that used AI to generate 10s of thousands of melodies and copyrighted them all for just this purpose.

[@davidfletcher2812]

The amount of money they'll throw at this court case could probably have bought them a similar amount of publicity...

[@guitarsimon1]

It’s almost as if we’re bumping up against the limitations of a music system that’s been around in various forms for hundreds of years now.

[@farhad_v25]

Yes! I think it’s funny when amateur music learners hear common chord progressions and think they’re copied. Like congrats you discovered the IV-V-I 😂 but seriously, there will be a time where it will be extremely difficult to create completely original music, I think jacob collier is one of the last few people truly determined to create brand new things. There’s only so far we can go with 11 different notes on a piano so we gotta get used to hearing the same things once in a while

[@bobf5360]

well regardless, it is indeed rich when a WHITE REGGAE BAND from South Florida wants to sue for copyright infringement. Literally EVERYTHING they are as a musical entity is infringement of someone else's work.

[@godspeedhero3671]

Nah, it's just a case that modern pop music isn't ABOUT being original so much as tapping into what's cool at the time.

[@methatis3013]

@@farhad_v25 well guess what, those 11 notes are basically as much as you can differentiate

[@methatis3013]

People have been able to come up with new musical ideas for hundreds of years, it's not a problem with the system

[@Filosofrog]

This is one of the best (If not THE best) KZbin channels about music. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@timnewsham1]

I can imagine how Artikal Sound System felt when they heard this song. If it was me I would have felt ripped off. I would love to know how they feel after watching this video or listening to some of the earlier songs that predate theirs. There is nothing new under the sun.

[@milliegeorge4469]

Same I feel so bad for them, like someone’s just stole your work and then changed your name to theirs yk?

[@PiPArtemis]

Nice to know that I can just rip a song note for note and the vocal pattern nearly to the syllable and it's totally cool as long as the song I ripped had some similarities to previous works

[@electricpurple4112]

A lot of musicians surprisingly do not care or know about music theory . It sounds like lots of people were involved in ASS's track and those who decided it Levitating ripped them off just simply do not know how common this progression is or the rhythm. Maybe someone should send them this video to explain what's going on!

[@brendonwood7595]

@@PiPArtemis lol either they also ripped it from the previous works, or you didn't rip it from them. Can't really claim you didn't rip it from the similar songs before yours but anyone after you ripped yours off.

[@kevinsantillans7415]

​@@PiPArtemis Do you realize that your argument contradicts itself, since your default song would also have been the product of another? There is not such thing as plagiarism in art, so don't talk about something you don't know.

[@danielreiser2051]

Thanks for coming to the point(s) without talking and talking for hours. I Like that style

[@gonzalordtm]

Excellent explanation! hearing their improvisation with dua lipa coming up with the melody is a good weapon against the lawsuit. Unfortunatelly in music some ideas tend to be similar to other existing ones, each time is easier to notice it due to the internet.

[@PS-fg3hp]

The quality of your videos in explaining musical concepts and your ability of making them accessible to the everyman (without dumbing things down or sounding condescending) is absolutely remarkable. It shows how much you care for the music and your viewers in general.

[@azaz911c]

Dua Lipa: I'm levitating. Artikal: We're litigating.

[@alandoan1640]

LMAO

[@Mrblackiechan17]

so underrated 😂

[@dontlistentoanythingisay]

When you said “OutKast’s 1988 song Rosa Parks” I had to rewind it to make sure I heard that right lol.

[@m.f.3347]

The problem isn't "do these songs sound similar", it's "did the accused explicitly rip off the accuser's work?", which is much harder to demonstrate. Even Led Zeppelin managed to beat Stairway to Heaven's plagiarism accusation, despite it being basically proven that they had already heard the song they allegedly ripped off (the band Spirit had toured with them).

[@who_what]

I agree with Adam here, but I'm pretty interested in what the bar is for someone to rightfully enforce their copyright. It seems like anything short of literally the exact same melody, and chord progression, (and similar tempo + timbre) does not cross that threshold.

[@fredblogs3308]

It isn't just "much harder" to demonstrate. It's completely impossible. Plagiarism, short of a literal unauthorised cover version, will always be in the ear of the beholder. Despite what musicologists angling for a paycheque for a court appearance might like us to believe, it is simply not something that can be scientifically proven. It is an entirely subjective assessment that each juror ot presiding judge will make. Coincidence and plagiarism, unfortunately for both the songwriters who get ripped-off and the ones who get falsely accused of ripping-off, are ultimately indistinguishable from each other.

[@doooofus]

Abolish Copyright (and more importantly, Abolish Patents)

[@baseballfan4877]

yeah that sounds like the hardest case for any copyright claim. I feel like you would need a sound recording of a person saying "yeah we copied that song" to have any case.

[@jaimeduncan6167]

Yes, but the result is not surprising, its common for the powerful to abuse the weak and get away with it.

[@RSK412]

My brain went to Rosa Parks immediately. But alas it just seems to be a really popular motif in funk and soul inspired music.

[@suschords]

It’s also worth noting that another song called “Spotlight” by Jessie Ware came out shortly before “Levitating”, and uses a very similar lyrical pattern in the chorus.

[@matthewmurray8570]

Just stopped by to say that Jessie Ware needs more credit / publicity, in general. She's fantastic. Same with Snoh Aalegra.

[@prajwaljayaraj5887]

Jessie ware is a fantastic artist

[@moonlightfitz]

Spotlight is a masterpiece tho

[@J0000OOOO]

As soon as he played Levitating this is what popped into my head.

[@Juanus14]

There's hundreds of songs "similar". And as time goes on the number will increase. You can't avoid this.

[@2Guys1ControllerShow]

What an absolute Banger of a video. You literally broke it down to where any lawyer could understand it. Great job.

[@12DAMDO]

as a DJ i kinda wish there were more songs that sound THIS similar yet kinda different in their own way... it makes for great mashups

[@RetroPlus]

Indeed

[@thejusticeization]

@@RetroPlus imagine playing other people's music and not making your own music..

[@Anon_Fox]

@@thejusticeization lol such a hater bro. Music is music! Enjoy

[@FwapoMcGee]

@@thejusticeization this person is probably a live DJ who runs a set for venues, parties, etc. It’s not their job to make music, though some do. It’s their job use and curate music to entertain, set an atmosphere/mood, get people hyped/dancing, basically working a crowd. Think of your favorite EDM producer. You could probably look up “_______ live set” and find them doing mashups.

[@thejusticeization]

@@FwapoMcGee Just set a laptop to play the music..why do you need a guy?

[@8BLOO8]

“Good artists borrow, Great artists steal” is a saying for a reason. It’s important that artists are able to build off each other and create new things from their inspiration.

[@Onaterdem]

Yes, but, and this is not related to the video: We must take inspiration from and build on top of eachother's progress, but we must always give credit where it's due.

[@troll2637]

@@Onaterdem ever heard of xerox Parc?

[@PROBOT-pv6ez]

inspiration is one thing. Plagiarism is something else. And if you think Dua Lipa and her lawyers and record label arent making sure they receive every cent possible every time any part of her songs are used anywhere you're nuts. She should be paying royalties to this group.

[@catsinwonderland7473]

Yes. Nobody copyrights fantasy creatures. Nobody copyrights tropes.

[@Zimmy_1981]

Singers

[@jonascoelho]

Me at the beginning of the video: "wow there is no way they are gonna lose this" Me at the end of the video "wow there is no way they are gonna win this"

[@jasonjones1350]

Lawyered

[@diosoth]

The only important aspect is "does x sound like y?". I get tired of musical "experts" & technicality explanations because they often end up either too technical or sometimes misleading(as Led Zeppelin employed when they were sued). Yes in this case the 2 sound quite alike. "Chord progression" and "you can' town a scale" aren't cutting it as defenses... does X sound like Y? The more SPECIFIC the copy, the more it matters. Dark Horse, not really. Dua Lipa has done this before, having to credit INXS with a soundalike. It does often happen accidentally as with Sam Smith almost getting a perfect match to Tom Petty, but then you have the case of Rod Stewart, who was conformed to have bought the Jorge Ben Jor record he stole that tune from. Metallica has admitted they plagiarized a lot of music, while they had the backbone to cry about MP3s. No wonder I hate Metallica.

[@EmpireState-rs4qj]

in much fewer word they are identical