Lawyer Reacts To Miley Cyrus "Flowers" Lawsuit | Inspiration vs. Infringement

[@SilentKnightProductions]

A phrase begins and sends on the same chords as another song? Dang! Every song on Billboard for the last 50 years is infringement!

[@patriciodasilva7902]

Item 49 'chords' are 'similar'. This is nonsense, the MARS chords, even melody, are GENERIC, used millions of times in other songs. The piano riff, block chords of quarter notes are common, especially used by Elton John. Thus the 'similarity' is NOT protected by copyright, as MARS 'similar aspects' have been done before. If it has been done before, it's not protected by copyright law. All you have to do is find many similar songs recorded before the MARS tune. ANd these 'similarities' are what is biasing the infringement SENTIMENT. It's not a fact, it's a 'feeling', a sentiment. The lawyers think they can, through selective reasoning, persuade a jury. This kind of lawyering must be STOPPED.

[@XionEternum]

@@Steve-i5295 Crux is that the song by Bruno Mars "When I Was Your Man" was a tribute song from Liam at Miley's wedding to him. Bit of ironic foreshadowing using a breakup song at a wedding, but I digress. The lyrics are juxtaposed as though Miley is singing in opposition to Bruno, when she is likely actually lyrically lashing out against Liam. All as discussed in the video as I write this which is its own unique irony.

[@bjhellstream]

Well, it's more probably that the songwriters of Mileys song were inspired by Bruno than any other. These songwriters are in many cases leeches with not very creative ideas and resort to theft...

[@grimmertwin2148]

The law is an ass and most 'stars' unoriginal and un interesting

[@grimmertwin2148]

​@@bjhellstreamyeah 10 songwriters to turn out shit only marginally better than what the 'artist' could do

[@alexlief2072]

When I heard the song the question I have to ask is "was the instrumental section produced before or after the vocals?" Writing the melody before the verses and chorus is more difficult than after. By saying Bruno Marz song is generic it can't be possibly proven. You are forgetting the structure of the song flowers, it's extremely similar. If Bruno Marz song is simple and anyone without hearing the song could reproduce it, that would make a good defence.

[@_whatsername1911]

Gimme enough time and Ill figure out who Bruno stole it from.😂

[@jeanettet]

The Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond song..."You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore" 😂

[@_whatsername1911]

@@jeanettet I actually meant the music, but yep! That's hysterical 😂😂😂.

[@aronbaumel]

Elton John in part. Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word.

[@thomasmoroney1079]

😂 you’re so right!

[@Philosophy42DaysUth]

Yes --- the MC song is reminiscent of a 70s song but I can't think of it.

[@qfdqweefer]

After Miley Cyrus's 2023 hit song "Flowers" was released, sales of Bruno Mars's 2012 song "When I Was Your Man" increased by 19.5% in streams. I think that is important to include the idea of damages suffered by Tempo, since their profits increased by nearly 20 %.

[@gabynarufan]

@@qfdqweefer talk about woke America

[@garycrause4060]

Money hungry corporate greed! The words are not identical, neither are the melodies. These people are wrecking music.

[@GracieValenti1]

It just sounds to me as if Miley took a song that symbolized her ex and responded to it with her own song. I don't think it's a copy at all, merely a melodic response.

[@stoneagedjp]

This

[@TheWalrusWasDanny]

Not copyright infringement...If I sung about the Beatles in a beatles like way mentioning songs I liked in the lyric...it wouldn't be infringement....Miley's song is like an answer. At first I thought it was gonna be a lawsuit involving I will Survive!! which is closer to the Miley song IMO.

[@drew3030]

There are no melodic similarities. The only similarities are in the chorus, lyrically. That is where it is a personal response, not a copy. It's an interpretation, not an interpolation ;-)

[@panoramicdramatic]

Yep. Melodic or chord or vocal arrangement, no copying. Even the very blatant chorus rhyme scheme falls under tribute/inspiration to me, because it is so audacious. That said, lyrical works have value, Miley could've just acknowledged Bruno (or the lyricist) out loud from the get-go. She didn't. That alone cancels the tribute "I'm just creatively referencing the great" argument. I like Miley and Flowers, her disrespect for lyrical art in a time of mass musical art devaluation is not cool, just sayin..

[@Rosannasfriend]

If you can’t tell that his verse sounds like her chorus, your ears are not very good.

[@drew3030]

@@Rosannasfriend A big no.

[@drew3030]

@@Rosannasfriend There are some youtube videos discussing the case vis-a-vis interpolation you could watch.

[@great8568]

@@drew3030 You don't need a video or anyone at all to tell you if something is similar. You can just play them on a piano and decide the melody and chord similarities for yourself

[@ckatheman]

I heard it immediately when it came out. I thought it was a hat tip to Mars and that was approved. It’s only in the chorus though and it’s not exactly the same.

[@Kub-Kob]

i was more reminded of the rasmus's "in the shadows" when i heard flowers the first time

[@huecatcher]

Before the release Miley sent the song to Bruno and he loved it. Bruno even used Flowers in his commercial

[@HarisLaus]

IMO this is a soundalike and if everyone start needle picking like this, there will be hundreds of cases. there needs to be some artistic freedom otherwise the new music being released will have to go super alternative not to sound like anything else. If you dig deep enough you will find that all modern music sounds like something from the past, but it has not been pointed out yet.

[@hwaynes]

I wonder if anyone checked to see if Mars' song might have any parts or pieces from someone else's songs. With billions of songs out in the world it is impossible not to step on a toe or two when composing music and not know it.

[@Arbdious]

I believe, but I'm not sure, that when the limited time of ownership ends, like the characters of Winnie the Pooh, anyone can use the melody and make a copy of their own. So even if he did copy someone’s work, depending on what, he can get away with it.

[@andrewcowie4005]

I can’t believe she wasn’t sued by First Aid Kit for the similarities between Silver Lining and Nothing Breaks Like a Heart.

[@jonnobloggs8642]

@andrewcowie4005 I'm surprised First Aid Kit were not sued by David McWilliams for copying The Days Of Pearly Spencer .Beat that Andrew !

[@lauraferguson6312]

Sorry, I do not see copyright infringement. I see a song created from inspiration of a broken heart and throwing shade at the person who broke said heart.

[@lawrencerasmus]

There are only 12 notes . The world has gone crazy😢

[@rachelandryan]

And there's an infinite number of melodic possibilities when taking into account rhythm, key changes, phrasing ect.

[@sheatanner9935]

@@rachelandryan Actually, that's not exactly true. There is a strong relationship between the chords and the melody of a song as far as engendering an emotive response. In order to invoke certain emotional responses the musician must focus both the melodic importance, and the listeners attention, on certain notes and harmonies. Since there are a finite number of chord progression the masses like to hear (as in popular enough to make a living in music with), our phrasing pallets also become more limited . Perhaps we are not as limited in melodic expression as much as we are in regards to harmonic content, but we're still limited (read that as "if an artist want's to make a living we must appeal to the listeners"). The idea of infinite note combinations ignores the reality of notes that cause unpleasant tension and/or unresolvedness. This is the catch 22 we are being funneled into. If artists are to continue to create, we can not have our color pallet restricted the way the law is doing so right now. And make no mistake, these investment groups are counting on the law hemming us in so that the only music available to listen to are the classics (which, by sheer coincidence, they own interest in), or new artists will have to pay for the privilege of starving, or miraculously invent something never before heard in 100+ years of western music. I hope I didn't sound too antagonistic. If I do, I apologize, it's not my intent.

[@paulheartsongs]

As a musician who regularly must learn new songs, I don't see these songs as the same. Melodies, dynamics and inflections are different! They feel different to me.

[@Arbdious]

Same and I agree.

[@douglascaskey7302]

Chord progressions are NOT copyrightable. I'm not a lawyer, and even I know that. I can't believe any lawyer would even put that in the complaint. 🤔If I was a judge reading the complaint I'd throw the case out right there and not even bother to read the rest. That being said... think of how fast AI could analyze 2 songs side by side and determine if there's infringement. Sorry lawyers... those 5 year cases you're billing for will turn into 5 mins.

[@patriciodasilva7902]

A chord progression *could" be factored in, (though never by itself), if the progression were extremely unusual, unique, rare, in conjunction with other unique aspects. I never saw 'chord progression is not copyrightable' in title 17, only 'if it's been done before, it's not protected by copyright', and that includes most chord progressions, since it is rare to find an original chord sequence. An entire sequence, taken as a whole, can easily be unique, but segments of the progression are very often common to other songs, especially the generic cycle of fourths/fifths, pervasive in many songs.

[@michaeljesen6905]

Lawyer for Bruno : Hey "lawyer for Miley" I need some dough, can you help me out my old pal. Lawyer for Miley: " No problem sue Miley and next time when I need help I will sue Bruno"

[@douglascaskey7302]

Because lawyers exist is the reason we have more lawyers. I don't think anybody has even been forced to get a doctor, because someone else has a doctor. 😏

[@charicealarcon808]

Bruno Mars is not the plaintiff. Bruno Mars friend and cowriter sold his share of the song to Tempo Music Investment Company and now this company is suing Miley.

[@zippythinginvention]

Miley's song is obviously a reference to Bruno's song. But without doing a careful analysis, I would wager that she has intentionally modified the melody so as to not be identical. At least that would be the smart thing to do.

[@mdurwin]

Agreed. It was a female response song to a male-focused song. I wonder if Liam sent that song to Miley as an apology so she parodied it by turning it back against that song. It's actually brilliant. It reminds me of Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd that was a response to Southern Man by Neil Young. Both of who toured together, with Neil accompanying Skynyrd on stage for SHA.

[@checkfactschecking]

Not even remotely close. I would counter sue them for willfully trying to pull a fast one.

[@dabeage]

This is call and response, it's not infringement.

[@RockmannMusic]

I do agree. Isn't this a big part in HipHop culture [hilarious at times, see eminem vs mgk]

[@dabeage]

@@RockmannMusic People figured out you can sue for anything. It's expensive, so many settle and if you win, you still lose unless you can get restitution. Unfortunately, the penalty for frivolous lawsuits is not a deterrent. Money for nothing, is a big temptation.

[@rokarolla]

I thought the Robin Thicke vs Gaye family was wrongly settled.

[@aronbaumel]

No… Pharrell is a douchebag of the highest order who pretends to be a lot more talented and know a lot more than he actually does. I saw his recorded deposition, and it was 100% apparent he’s a jerk and that he intentionally ripped off that song.

[@RockmannMusic]

I do agree because same style/vibe often defines a genre like Dark Metal or . . Funk for example. Making this punishable is an attack on the freedom of artistic expression and on the different cultures forming a diverse musical world

[@brianhoffman8756]

I always thought the song was a clap back to her divorce from Bruno Mars.., but if I don't even have her ex-husband correct none of my other details can be right. To that point I thought it was a parody.

[@nzlemming]

Which could be a defence.

[@Cuppy88]

@@brianhoffman8756 She wasn’t married to Bruno Mars, she was married to Liam Hemsworth, who chose to play that song in dedication to Miley during their wedding.

[@taylowendy]

This is crazy! You would think there would be more lawsuits out there because there are so many songs out there that are reflect this situation. More so now than ever because many of the artists today can’t create their own music. Now, if here is one song that should get compared and have a lawsuit. The song is “One Thing” by Amerie. She recorded her song BEFORE JLo came out with “Get Right.” The beat sounds very very close to Amerie. Amerie deserves her career back.

[@spooders]

So funnily enough, the writer Rich Harrison wrote 1 Thing and was going to give it to JLO first but gave it to Amerie instead. Get Right was originally made for Usher but it didn't make his album so Harrison gave Get Right to JLO as an apology for giving the other one to Amerie. Usher was not happy with this. Sometimes it's more of the writers fault than the actual artists. Thats probably why there isn't much talked about JLO and Amerie, same writer and producer for both, he knew what to change that would make it still feel and sound catchy if not very similar but not enough to do anything about it.

[@valdelduca8325]

The chords on the Miley base are more I will survive song The lyrics more relevant to Bruno Mars No lawsuits Sweet dreams

[@joaolopes04]

Well, then we might just get rid of what we know as "music" lol can we just stop and think that literally every song in the world ends up being copies of each other? Like, are you going to tell me that the chord progression in a song by T. Swift, for example, wasn't used in a song from the 80s/90s....for the love of god. If we were to take everything personally and sue every person who remembers to use the same harmonic elements as us, then I don't want to imagine what the EDM industry would be like.

[@reynaarias3380]

It’s more striking the similarities with I WILL SURVIVE, for me it was Miley singing on the I WILL SURVIVE backing track, but given the fact that there is not much originality around…

[@genespliced]

Seems more like a company trying to set legal precedent on CHORD PROGRESSIONS in a greedy grab for dollars. It is quite ridiculous. Imagine if every artist who ever painted trees and mountains in their correct colors owed money for copyright infringement to the first person to paint trees and mountains. What a boring and Unartistic world we would live in. Miley would of course have to briefly use the same chords and even the same melody in order to have the subject matter be known and recognized by listeners - That subject matter being Bruno’s song. She didn’t plagiarize Bruno’s song and call it her own. She created a song about a song. Or more correctly, a song in response to the lyrical content of a song. There’s really only the 48 basic chords to choose from, Major, minor, augmented, diminished - and far far fewer of those that will actually work together in a progression in the genre of “Pop Music”. I doubt the plaintiff even recognizes the damage they would cause to the entire industry if they ever won a court’s ruling on this.

[@mikeruiger7174]

When hearing Miley’s song I knew it was a play on Bruno’s song without anything and without being into music. Just a radio listening experience

[@adrienneclarke3953]

100%. Pretty sure there is even an interview out there where she mentions this.

[@Robdeltonie]

When I first heard about this case, my mind immediately went to two New York copyright cases (Oyewole v. Ora, and Estate of Smith v. Graham, the latter of which was appealed and affirmed by the 2nd circuit) where an alleged infringing interpolation was found to be fair use. I realize that this would be appealed to the 9th Circuit once it gets that far (if it even gets that far) where these cases are merely persuasive authorities and not binding precedents, but I think from the aspect of the lyrics, a case could be made for fair use in this case. In the Ora case, Rita Ora's song "How We Do (Party)" interpolated the phrase "party and bullshit" from American poet Abiodun Oyewole. The court found that fair use applied in this case, in part because the phrase was used in a different context, transforming (in terms of the first fair use factor) the phrase as describing a lifestyle that should be celebrated, as opposed to its original meaning in which it was a lifestyle that should be shunned or condemned. Likewise, in the Graham case, the Court found Drake's sample of Jimmy Smith's spoken word/rap jazz song in his song "Pound Cake" was also found to be fair use. In the original song, the line was, "Jazz is the only real music that's gonna last. All that other bullshit is here today and gone tomorrow." Drake changed it to refer to "real music" that's "gonna last" and not just jazz music. This was sufficient for the court to say the use of the sample was transformative. Now, consider the two songs at issue here. In Bruno Mars's song "When I Was Your Man", the song describes a situation from a male ex-lover's perspective, lamenting about all the things he should have done differently to keep the woman he loved in his life. "I should've *bought you flowers* / And *held your hand* / Should've gave you all my *hours* / When I had the chance / Take you to every party / 'Cause all you wanted to do was *dance* ". Contrast that with Miley Cyrus's song "Flowers". That song describes the situation from the perspective of a female ex-lover, and is less sad and more self-empowering, reminding herself that she doesn't need a man to do those things. "I can *buy myself flowers* / Write my name in the sand / Talk to myself for *hours* / Say things you don't understand / I can take myself *dancing* / And I can *hold my own hand* ". Even if Miley had access to the Bruno Mars song and directly copied the words from it, and even if the idea/expression dichotomy doesn't apply here and the words copied are protectable in their own right, under the logic of the cases above, it would be considered transformative under the first fair use factor, and fair use very much may apply here.

[@YoPaulieMusic]

"Interpolating" seems a lot to me like the common practice in Jazz of "quoting" another musical phrase. Sometimes a soloist will quote a segment of a famous jazz melody, or a line from a famous solo from someone else. It's toungue in cheek, hey check out how I fit this musical element that we all know into my solo. This is the sort of stuff that drives people crazy and makes some people hate lawyers. We have become so litigious as a society, the world just needs to lighten the f*** up. :)

[@abhsound9860]

This case is not about Jazz....

[@YoPaulieMusic]

@@abhsound9860 Who said it was? I was providing an example of how melodies can be used in a different genre to show that it's been done before. What exactly is your point?

[@SparklyGals]

I just want to say that I always felt this song was more similar to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” than “When I Was Your Man” but that doesn’t mean it’s copyright infringement

[@damienmacrae]

Absolutely. I was going to say the same thing. Miely's song sounds nothing like Brono Mars's song, and is more of an answer to his song.

[@paullopez2021]

The Flowers beat was like an indie pop band covering I Will Survive from memory. But Gloria Gaynor has shown nothing but love for this song.

[@Americanmamaistired]

Does the Bruno Mars song sound like the Gloria Gaynor song? 🤔 Sounds like just a feud to me. Drama and greed as usual.

[@simonebernacchia5724]

Something that legal want the money people will NOT understand is that Cyrus is not an imitation but a tone-by-tone response, and the EMOTIONALITY of the chords (mars: regret, cyrus = whatever man) proves it, but is outside of their processing skills

[@radicalrick9587]

*I know that many lawyers tend to be biased in ways that favor them. These biases may sometimes align with their interests or their clients' objectives. Their primary role is to advocate for their client, and this can create a tendency to interpret facts and laws in ways that are favorable to their case.*

[@shannon9211]

Isn’t there an allowance for parody in music? It feels like a direct response to the Bruno Mars song.

[@gertdejonge8951]

I legit thought it was too

[@orlock20]

It's about payment. While parody is allowed, I would think the original artists would still get credit for any duplication. For instance all those Weird Al parodies of Micheal Jackson's songs would still have to credit the people that came up with the instrumentation.

[@williamwilliams8145]

​ I agree, the same as Lydia Murdock's song superstar being sung from the point of view of Micheal Jackson's Billy Jean. However Lydia did use Jackson's music in her song so would have I assume got permission.

[@aronbaumel]

@@orlock20no he doesn’t, and they don’t get paid. Parody is fair use. It’s one category of transformative work. If something is fair use, no permission or license/payment/attribution is required.

[@orlock20]

@@aronbaumel The lyrics are parodied, but the instrumentation is not.

[@soulofwaves]

All my life I understood that chord progressions can't be copyrighted. Only melodies. And now there's a lawsuit claiming copyright on chords. Am I wrong or this is complete nonsense? And if it's complete nonsense, why are lawyers trying to claim this?

[@BottomFocus]

Sounds more like the anti-song to B Mars "When I was your man" but I don't think it is to the level of copy right infringement.

[@universalmeditation8631]

No one sues in the early stages of a song’s release, they let it sit and accumulate streams and then the massive payday comes along.😂

[@RibombeeTeacher]

I would say the only thing that was close is the lyrics. The melody, chord progression and other musical elements are standard pop elements from well over 40 years and not Bruno's original anyway so probably won't go anywhere. Reminds me of the Marvin Gaye Estate vs Ed Sheeran recently where Ed rocked up to court with his guitar and played 12 or 13 songs all with the same chord progression in.

[@GadgetsGearCoffee]

My god corporate greed like this is such a dumb waste of time. They seem as bad as scammers just educated different. Would be interesting to see if Flowers in fact increased listening time for Bruno Mars song! Then is that factored in?

[@VynxeVainglory]

The side by side comparison was great for revealing that the songs are not nearly similar enough for any lawsuit.

[@daexion]

Even with the side by side comparison, I couldn't tell you there was any similarities.

[@paullopez2021]

I thought Bruno Mars personally approved of the interpolation? Personally, I always thought Bruno should've been credited as a songwriter. But this just seems like a blatant cash grab by greedy label execs who want to cash in on Flowers.

[@MrBait362]

Am sorry, nothing here

[@FuncKeR]

Literally a corporate white collar grift. It's a business model that intentionally seeks out for the smallest "in" into the court system as a means to generate it's capital. They aren't interested in this going to trial, they are interested in negotiations with Miley's litigation insurer in order to grab a settlement somewhere south of the proposed costs to carry on with the defense throughout all the inevitable depositions, discovery, motions, etc. This is straight "ambulance chasing," if you will.

[@skyhorseprice6591]

Miley's song was indeed similar, but not exact. There were a couple of phrases where it was not even close, except for a word here and there, like the phrase where she said, "Hours.." I kinda think there are a few spots where maybe some subconscious plagiarism may have occurred, but overall I gotta say not. Pop songs are especially troublesome in this respect because a lot of them use the same chord progressions, the same vocal ideas. One that really was scary was the suit against George Harrison for _My Sweet Lord_ being a direct lift of that late 50's/early 60’s song, _He's So Fine_ or was it _She's So Fine?_ Whichever it was, that was the primary vocal hook in both songs and it was EXACT. Even one of the Beatles had to deal with plagiarism.

[@jmont1031]

🎉 First time I heard Flowers I thought it was Miley covering Bruno Mars When I Was Your Man. Only when Miley performed the song on the Grammys did I become aware it was an original.

[@CulturedPrickmetal]

When I first heard about this lawsuit, I was curious to hear your opinion about it. Thanks for posting!

[@micke_mango]

I would possibly regard Cyrus' song as a counterpoint to Mars' song, if the similarities were intentional, which I assume they are. The 3rd part of the chorus is distinctively different in my ears. I think the similarities are creatively different enough to not be regarded as infringements. My opinion is that similar phrases must be much longer than those accepted (as infringements) recently (last 10 years) by American courts

[@WineSippingCowboy]

Flashbacks. 1983. Eurythmics wrote Sweet Dreams Are Made of This. Corey Hart wrote Sunglasses at Night. Both were recorded in London, the same city, in the same year but different districts. 1984. 40 years 🎂. The late Prince called Jonathan Cain. Prince played his demo. Cain said it sounds nothing like Faithfully. Thus, it's OK! The song in question was Purple Rain. Same year. Huey Lewis and Chris Hayes sued Paramount and Ray Parker, Jr. They settled. Ghostbusters took part of I Want a New Drug. 1985. The late Michael Jackson told Daryl Hall and John Oates that the bassline from Billie Jean was based on I Can't Go for That. Hall and Oates said it's OK 👌. The songs sound nothing alike! Same year. The late Joe Strummer demanded £5 from Roland Orzabal: Everybody Wants to Rule the World (written by him, Chris Hughes and Ian Stanley) is a line from Charlie Don't Surf (written by Strummer and Mick Jeff Jones -- not Mick Leslie Jones of Foreigner). Orzabal gave the note to Strummer. Lawsuit which was bizarre. CCR vs John Fogerty. 1993. The 9th Circuit (in my hometown San Francisco, across the bay from Berkeley, hometown of Fogerty) ruled in favor of Fogerty. Conclusion: you cannot sue yourself! Because Fogerty wrote all the songs for CCR, none of the members can stop him from performing any of those songs. Back 40 years ago 🎂, Fogerty started writing songs for Centerfield to offset the legal entanglements from his ex band CCR. Interpolation or modulation. 1991. Bridge in Everything I Do I Do It for You is similar to the 2nd chorus and 3rd chorus to outro of Pour Some Sugar on Me (released in 1987). No copyright violation: Mutt Lange is the co-writer of both songs!

[@seame3795]

It’s a response song not copyright infringement. They don’t sound similar at all. It’s inspired not copied.

[@universalmeditation8631]

This is why you have to be careful during interviews asking where the inspiration came from! It’s gotcha journalism.😂

[@legman1476]

If Bruno wins, these guys have a pretty good shot at some statutory damages. Another Night ~ Real McCoy It's A Beautiful Life ~ Ace of Base Island In The Sun ~ Weezer (This moves much more quickly through the progression but it's the same). C, Am, Dm, G

[@Cuppy88]

Bruno isn’t going to win because he isn’t the one suing in the first place.

[@BillAshtonNelo]

She knew what she was doing. She would sue too.

[@nlumby]

...the notes I wasn't sure about ...but the lyrics

[@rogatronwelcometomars1284]

The melody is the main theme in Benjamin Britten’ Variation On A Theme By Thomas Tallis ( and Tallis lived well before Mozart) . So the melody at least is Public Domain. Some people say it’s uncannily similar to Perfect Day by Lou Reed.

[@lastyearsmodel5088]

The words are intentionally a play on When I Was Your Man. Everyone knows that. However she rewrote them and that’s not illegal. The melodies are not the same. Sure you could make a very cool mashup of them but she did not need permission for this song.

[@markrobertjustin]

this is insane BS . the Miley Cyrus song sounds nothing like Bruno Mars . this is indicative of the greed of "some people" in our time . ITs crazy making

[@espacemaxim]

The word we're looking for here is "frivolous"

[@Robin-wm3hv]

Flowers is the only similarity..the word flowers..then it goes to something totally different..

[@Arbdious]

If someone asks, “What’s 1+1” and you respond “2,” it doesn't mean you're taking someone’s work/question and making it your own. I think this is a money grab and her work is not an exact copy, like Weird Al Yankovic’s music where he does take the melody and add lyrics. If you remove the lyrics and focus solely on the melody, they do not match.

[@Lexxo777]

Musically not similar enough for legals, Side by side lyrics show Miley if anything, merely "responding" to Bruno's cliche romantic lyrics with Miss Independent vibes. No Case, and clever work Team Miley.

[@nunninkav]

Bad Showmance. A Cyrus song was the topic of the Beato "interpolation" episode.

[@rachelandryan]

I don't think releasing a cover song without the artist's permission is protected under fair use.

[@aronbaumel]

It’s a loser of a lawsuit, which is why the original label, publisher, and artists never bothered. It’s a cash grab by an investment group. Interpolation is not per se infringement. You do not need a license from the copyright author to quote a protected work. The amount of the original work used and the context matter. The entirety of the Oasis catalog, e.g. is a tip of the hat to the artists that inspired Noel. “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Knowing where to steal from is what made artists like David Bowie an icon. The Beatles, Stones, Who, Zeppelin, etc., etc. are all guilty of “interpolation”. It only becomes infringement when you step over the line. There is a First Amendment right under fair use to create transformative works using the copyrighted work of another. Without getting into a dissertation here, Flowers is absolutely that. It doesn’t take the original song, put some lipstick on it and call it something new… no… it takes the original song and line by line, it flips it on its head. She casts Liam as if he was Bruno singing this song to her, (which was his song to her) and this is her answer back… taking every sentiment in that song and expressing the other side of the coin. It will probably settle for some money and some credits because this is a business play and it’s the most expedient solution for both sides, but it’s a bogus suit. By comparison, Pharrell is an egotistical jackass, who got his ass handed to him by the 9th Circuit because he blatantly ripped off Gaye. The family’s attorneys are friends. I saw his recorded deposition, and it was 100% obvious they set out trying to intentionally copy that song.

[@carydaniels4352]

It’s definitely a lyric copy right , where she drops and changes some of the lyrics I would agree most definitely more on the lyrical side and yes some chords as well this is going to be a easy case to solve it’s not Mileys first time either

[@prisvideos8919]

Seems like a flimsy case to me, besides some similarity in lyrics and a few notes, they're very different tracks. Bruno Mars used 'Flowers' in his recent advertisement campaign and sales for 'When I Was Your Man' increased significantly following Miley's release, therefore Tempo Music have also profited indirectly from 'Flowers'. Going after those as powerful as Cyrus, Sony and Warner seems like a pretty bad decision, based on the little 'proof' they have.

[@chrisvermette650]

It's interesting because, lyrically, it seems like it is a response to the song from Liam. He was so into the song and and she is saying that I can do all that for myself. She should have asked for the license - I thnk Bruno would have been ok, know ing this a a response type song - the opposite side of the same story

[@SmileFulable]

She DID get permission from bruno. But he isn‘t the one who is sueing

[@shanerogers7198]

Seriously, singer married actor. Couple chooses a song. Actor cheats on singer, divorce happens. Singer takes “their” song and puts her own words to it. It should be looked at as a sequel to the story already there. The other part, we are literally 140 some odd years into recorded music at this point. Do they not think that with only 14 notes, there might be some repetition. I actually can’t stand Miley, but I get it. Ever heard the term “Dis Trac?” This is what happens when lawyers get involved(nothing personal) BTW, didn’t Bruno Mars get sued for the exact same thing with Uptown Funk?

[@Bthelick]

Correction "sampling" is taking a RECORDING, not "a piece of someone else's song" . Your wording there infers that using the same notes is also called sampling and that is not the case.

[@amyannfield960]

The songs so different

[@ladyde-asmrfortheloveofsoap]

Miley’s song always reminds me of the Rupert Holmes song “Escape” from 1979, also known as the Pina Colada song, especially the chorus, although Miley’s is sped up more. Wonder if anyone else hears similarities in them?

[@lancedeschenes4046]

I believe Miley’s song is a deliberate response to Bruno’s.

[@sharonhodkinson2011]

A response is not an infringement

[@OfficialStevenCravis]

When I first heard Flowers I could have sworn it was written by Bruno Mars just from the style of the chord changes, melody and groove.

[@micke_mango]

If someone bothers to look for EDCEF (including the transposed versions of that figure in other minor scales) universally, I'm quite sure you will find this in a dozen classical music pieces, at least. In all music, probably 100s of findings... However, this seems to be a losing battle for creativity, at least in US courts. Some years ago a US court decided an infringement case in favour of the complainant, although the most important part of the claimed infringement was used in a Bach piece

[@Opeckie]

Something people tend to forget is Bruno himself is not involved in this, it's a 3rd party who owns a part of the copyright. What would be an interesting "Mic Drop" would be if Bruno shows up in favor of Miley in court. There's already MANY precedents set for songs like this, if anything it's more a parody then an infringement in my opinion (and I'm nobody), but I can't see this going in the favor of the plaintiff...and if I were Miley's side I sure as hell wouldn't settle. I'm not a fan, but I think it's a creative take considering the circumstances surrounding her retort of a song. Love the channel BTW and your insight into these kinds of things!

[@kaitlynraw4899]

That's such a shame to hear. I was hoping they would make a collaboration with their two songs. That would have been cool to see. I think it's obvious to anybody that her song was inspired by his song, but I thought it would be really cool if they work together to make a duet out of it or something.

[@kierenmoore3236]

It’s more of a response/retort to the Mars song (and was therefore clearly inspired by it), but that does not make it a similar song, musically or otherwise, and I don’t think it is very similar at all, in terms of (key!) melody or phrasing, nor in terms of timbre or mood. Containing the same chords/being in the same key doesn’t mean anything by itself. Clearly inspired by … but that’s nowhere near enough. There is no property in an idea, per se. And this isn’t even taking the same idea, it is turning it on its head … and most importantly, the way that was executed substantively does not take anything of significance from the Mars song. It’s quite an interesting case, though, because it is almost like a ‘call and response’/‘2-part story’, but stretched across 2 different songs by different artists (with very different moods/viewpoints).

[@Witherfall]

It’s not the same

[@stephenallenmusic]

The lyrics are similar

[@TheChristafershawn]

Obviously she was playing off the song that was significant in her relationship and wrote a response song to the original but that does not make it the same song. That said it seems she should pay some sort of publishing royalty for that inspirational blueprint.

[@johnf1772]

I would call this song a response to the other song. Don't know what that means from a copyright perspective, but it's not a new concept. Whether it's Sweet Home Alabama responding to Southern Man/Alabama...or go back a few hundred years to Lord Byron/Robert Southey. Whether it's a lyrical response or a melodic response or both. Under the inspiration category I would also equate it to When Smokey Sings using the same bass line as Tears of a Clown.

[@MrJonnyharry]

First thing I heard when I went to check out the Bruno song which I hadn’t previously come across was, is this an Elton John song?

[@OldBoans]

The best 'flower ' song is by Talking heads from the album 'naked'

[@KombatKarateLBC]

You can't copyright Chord structure? Right?

[@_whatsername1911]

Everyone copied off the Beatles, so if you could cr it, anything after them wouldn't exist. 😂

[@SuperCutealien]

I miss the days when artists were allowed to be influenced by each other.

[@scotthallinan4609]

Actual lawyers wrote this brief? Where did they get their degrees? A van down by the river?

[@SandyK-gi1br]

I really feel bad some of these artists feel the need to sell their catalogs of music. I don't think they realize once they give them up the catalogues to the people that bought them can use their music how ever they want even if the artist disagree with it. It's a darn shame.

[@russellspear6188]

This lawsuit is bullsh*t. Flowers is a nod to his song. You could call it a response to it. I'm responding to Miss Krystle, but I'm not infringing on her content even though we both are discussing Miley and Bruno and Flowers and When I Was Your Man and even the same lawsuit.

[@Sozgn1111]

This argument would get you sued

[@jerrywemhoff]

proof of access and proof of similarity defines a derivative work, but doesn't necessarily imply copyright infringement. In THIS case, it's absolutely derivative, but the third criteria is INTENT. the INTENTION is not to ape the original song, it's to make a statement USING the song. HOWEVER, the statement being made was not intended for the artist, it was circumstantial (similar to how images that give verisimilitude to a film don't violate trademark). It technically qualifies as a parody.

[@kyfisher3662]

its reverencing the song not copying the song.

[@LurkingCrassZero]

If I wasn't told Miley's song was copying Bruno's, and I heard them one after another, I probably wouldn't pick up on the similarities tbh.

[@Anduril919]

It was undeniably influenced by Bruno Mars’ song - whether this constitutes infringement is going to be decided by the courts. I think the level of similarity is such that a finding of infringement appears plausible.

[@stuffnuns]

Sounds to me like “Flowers” is an answer song to the Mars tune. There’s been many pop hits that had answer songs, talking back to the original hit’s artist.

[@timothyjfry2027]

I think there needs to be clearer guide lines with what is acceptable interpolation if that is possible ?

[@itubeutubewealltube1]

miley and bruno should just hook up and do a duet with both songs

[@Divedown_25]

Note that Tempo Music Investment acquired rights to “When I Was Your Man” in March 2020 through the acquisition of songwriter Philip Lawrence's catalog. . But I have to say that it is obvious that Miley wrote the song "Flower" hitting Liam as the "When I Was Your Man” lyrics are replied to. Funny but at end this is a ridiculous lawsuit. Note that Bruna Mars has not filed a lawsuit, it is just money sucking leeches.

[@sussemous]

The music seems very different. It doesn’t feel like a “copy” of that song by Bruno Mars. It is more of a response which seems totally legal to be able to reply 😊

[@DrunkenRhinoceros]

It appears, when reviewing the opening lyrics side by side, that Miley had a personal counter response to the lyrics in Bruno Mars song. almost as if she took their favorite song together and dismantled it in the interest of moving on. The beat is dramatically different however.

[@Angified]

Cher just did this with an old song from miley.. its an old melody from a Carrie underwood song. We caught that last night when we checked out chess new piece.

[@p4rt_t1me_g0d]

One thing is clearly obvious, one song wouldn't exist in the same format without the other.