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Satriani vs Coldplay: what do lawyers say?
What could happen if case went to court?
Michael Leonard and Joe Bosso, Thu 11 Dec 2008, 4:46 pm UTC
Bienstock says, "Americans are absolutely fascinated on the concept of copyright infringement. I take calls every day from people claiming that major stars have stolen their songs.
"This is really about publishers, not so much about Joe Satriani and Chris Martin having a day in court where they can wag their fingers at each other. It doesn't work that way.
"In Federal Court, only three percent of cases go to trial. After you have filed your complaint, filed your answer, filed your various motions, conducted discovery, two to three years have gone by. At which point, lawyers begin to talk to each other about how to settle the case.
"This is really about publishers, not so much about Joe Satriani and Chris Martin having a day in court where they can wag their fingers at each other" Music attorney Ronald S Bienstock
"Were this to go to trial, it would be a very expensive and time-consuming process. Experts, such as musicologists, would have to be brought in to compare the two pieces of music. That part alone could drag on for weeks."
Overlap between audiences
"As far as intended audience, both acts are in the pop music field, and they could very well have the same fans and get played on the same radio stations. I'm not saying they are exactly the same, but we're not talking about a metal band vs a polka group. There is some overlap. It might be small, but it's there.
"I would say it's unlikely this will go to trial. I believe Coldplay will settle" Ronald S Bienstock
"I would say it's unlikely this will go to trial. I believe Coldplay will settle. Joe's attorney for the publisher will say we want to have a percentage of the song going forward and the back royalties, and Coldplay's attorney will negotiate a figure.
"Unless, of course, everybody digs their heels in, and then it could drag on. I don't see that happening, however. This might take one or two years, but it'll get resolved."
Two years?! And you thought it was getting complicated already...
User comments (5)
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i agree with theosu809. If you arent tone deaf or daft, its quite apparent that these songs are VERY similar in all three elements of music composition, Melody, rythm, and harmony. You just said it, alexcorreia, that pretty much most blues songs sound the same...that only means that the genre 'blues' has apparently had the ability to do so since its birth. If someone was to now say, "OK, i wrote the first blues song let me collect royalties on EVERY blues tune ever written after mine", people would refer him to a loony bin.
Its not just the chord progression thats similar...its the way the rythm and melody are played behind and over the progression, respectively. Ummm yeah, you should probably know that if you're claiming to "play" guitar. each note over every chord change infront of every rythm hit can be perciesely segmented and analyzed throughout each song. I'm not saying they are exaclty the same at every fraction of every second. I will say though that the chances of one man...two years after the other, putting out a recording that contains a suspiciously similar melody, rythm and harmony overlap are well...highly questionable! its even at the same tempo in the same key for god sake. That pretty much puts the cherry on top. I personally wouldnt believe it if Chris Martin said he's never heard the satriani song before the completion of viva la vida. Yes, theosu809, coldplay should go down hard. Satriani wrote that he was hurt by the theft of a tune he had worked on for years and the second he heard it...he knew what had to be done. How true that is...nobody will really know accept him. However, he has ALOT more goin for him than coldplay does with regards to the conclusion of this issue. -
come on dude.. are you retarded or what? did you even read what satriani said?
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Joe Satriani has always been a great influence on my playing. He's always been a low profile kind of guy and I liked that. I really don't understand what's this all about. I agree there are a few simliar phrases here and there but that doesn't make it the same. I'm sure there are millions of songs with that same chord progression.
Take blues music for instance. It's pretty much the same chord progression over 12 bars most of the time. The lead guitar is always based around the same licks. Should the oldest blues player sue everybody for plagiarism?
This is probably just free publicity for Joe. Is he that desperate for attention?
I could say that Joe plagiarized Akon's Lonely on a Super Colossal song I can't remember the name. Check it out if you got the album. -
what makes him a jerk? if i were a talented guitarist like satriani, i wouldnt want someone popularizing my music to teenage girls. thats obviously not what his music is written for. i hope coldplay goes down hard.
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Before I thought this dude was a pretty good guitar player. Now I just think he is a jerk.
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