Led Zeppelin Sued for Plagiarism

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, Industry News, Rock,

Led Zeppelin are being sued for plagiarism over their hit "Stairway to Heaven."

The band have been served legal papers on behalf of late song-writer and guitarist Randy California from the band Spirit, who claimed for years the track's opening notes were lifted from their track "Taurus." Attorney Francis Alexander Malofiy, who is representing a trust for Randy, told Bloomberg Businessweek, "It's been a long time coming. The idea behind this is to make sure that Randy California is given a writing credit on 'Stairway to Heaven.'"

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Pharrell Accused of Plagiarizing Franz Ferdinand Song

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Collaborations, Gossip, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop, Rock, New Releases,

Perhaps Pharrell shouldn't break out the champagne glasses for his Grammy wins just yet.

The 40-year-old producer/singer/Arby's hat lover has been accused of stealing the rift from the 2004 Franz Ferdinand song "Take Me Out" for the Paloma Faith track he produced, titled "Can't Rely on You."

"Hey @Pharrell - I love your tunes. If you want to borrow a riff, just ask... [sic]," Alex Kapranos - Franz Ferdinand frontman - wrote on Twitter yesterday.

Although Kapranos seems to have taken the plagiarizing in good humor (he later pointed out another similarity between a popular contemporary tune and one from 1986: "THAT's what it is! Royals by Lorde sounds like You're The Voice by John Farnham. A wee bit."), Pharrell has yet to respond. Kapranos hasn't stated whether he'll pursue legal action against him.

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Madonna Wins “Vogue” Lawsuit

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Industry News, Pop,

Madonna has won a lawsuit over her track "Vogue."

The "Music" singer's 1990 track was subject of a court case brought by VMG Salsoul, who claim producer Robert "Shep" Pettibone illegally sampled two horn hits from the 1983 track "Love Break" by the Salsoul Orchestra, a track which was, in turn, a remix of their 1976 song "Chicago Bus Stop."

VMG Salsoul claimed new technology enabled them to prove the horns were a sample when they filed the lawsuit earlier this year. Further complicating matters, Robert was the person who remixed "Love Break." The judge eventually decided it didn't matter whether the horns were a sample or not, as he ruled in Madonna's favor, saying the average listener would not notice.

"Having listened to the sound recordings of 'Chicago Bus Stop,' 'Love Break,' and 'Vogue,' the court finds that no reasonable audience would find the sampled portions qualitatively or quantitatively significant in relation to the infringing work, nor would they recognize the appropriation. The Court finds that any sampling of the horn hit was de minimis [sic] or trivial," Californian District Judge Beverly O'Connell said in her ruling.

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Carly Rae Jepsen Sued

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Pop, New Releases,

Carly Rae Jepsen is being sued over "Call Me Maybe."

A Ukranian singer, Aza, is filing a lawsuit in Los Angeles, claiming the Canadian star's mega hit copies her track, "Hunky Santa." The lawsuit claims the festive themed song - recorded in English - has the same lyrical basis as Carly's track, and was taken without consent.

"I'm shocked and surprised that these people wanted to sample my lyrics on their song. They didn't ask me for permission, they just took it. That's why I filed this lawsuit. When I first heard it on the radio, I was driving and almost got into an accident. I couldn't believe what I was hearing," former Miss Ukraine Aza told TMZ.com.

The lawsuit is seeking substantial damages to compensate Aza.

Representatives for Carly, 26, deny her track is in any way related to "Hunky Santa." A representative said, "This is completely false and Carly's lawyers will deal with this. Everyone knows Carly is a songwriter. She is not spending a lot of time listening to Ukrainian radio."

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Bob Dylan Bites Back at Plagiarism Claims

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Concerts / Tours, Gossip, Folk, Rock,

Bob Dylan has blasted critics who accused him of plagiarism.

The legendary musician was quick to defend himself about quoting other artists and authors' material in his own work, branding his critics "wussies and pussies" and saying they are the same kind of petty people who called him "Judas" at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival for switching from an acoustic to an electric guitar.

"Judas, the most hated name in human history! If you think you've been called a bad name, try to work your way out from under that. Yeah, and for what? For playing an electric guitar? As if that is in some kind of way equitable to betraying our Lord and delivering him up to be crucified. All those evil motherf*****s can rot in hell," he ranted to Rolling Stone.

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