Can you cite any songs where a lawsuit reverted full credit to the original writers and entirely excluded the 'plagiarist' ?

[u/SwissMiss915]

The Verve / Rolling Stones case is its own unique animal and I am looking for more cut and dry examples. And Ashcroft was later brought back into the songwriting share.

In every case of songwriting plagiarism, such as Vanilla Ice / Queen, and countless Led Zeppelin examples, a songwriter whose ruled to have been plagiarized has simply had their name added to the other song, and shares in the plagiarist revenue of their song.

But similar to what originally happened with Richard Ashcroft/Verve and the Rolling Stones (Mick/Keith were initially awarded 100% songwriting, not a share w/ Ashcroft), can you name other examples, where the plagiarist lost 100% songwriting credit even for their own version of the song?

[u/AutoModerator]

Thanks for posting to r/musicindustry. Before you comment or ask a question, please review the resources below.

• View our AMA Calendar for past/upcoming r/musicindustry verified AMAs: https://www.reddit.com/r/musicindustry/comments/1pnz6h9/official_ama_calendar_upcoming_past_amas/
• Subreddit Rules (read before posting): https://www.reddit.com/r/musicindustry/comments/1n8vx89/start_here_how_rmusicindustry_works_read_before/ Community rules are also listed in the subreddit sidebar
• Community Discord: https://www.reddit.com/r/musicindustry/comments/1nnw4ur/introducing_the_music_industry_community_discord/
• Full Wiki(Useful for beginners): https://www.reddit.com/r/musicindustry/wiki/index

Educational only. Nothing here is legal, financial, or tax advice. Always confirm with official sources and professionals.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Raspberries-Are-Evil]

Sting vs Sean Combs.

Sting got 100% of all earnings for “Ill be missing you” because Diddy did not clear the sample. Millions and millions every year.

[u/SwissMiss915 → u/Raspberries-Are-Evil]

Puffy was never a writer on that but Todd Gaither was, and he does own a % of the Puffy version.

[u/dkinmn → u/SwissMiss915]

Search on BMI songview. Sting is the only listed writer in any official sense.

Performers may still get label side royalties, but that may also be surrendered.

[u/Raspberries-Are-Evil → u/SwissMiss915]

100% of all of it goes to Sting. Todd gets nothing as well.

[u/SwissMiss915 → u/Raspberries-Are-Evil]

Todd Gaither did not make $0.00 for writing "I'll Be Missing You". End of story.

[u/Raspberries-Are-Evil → u/SwissMiss915]

Correct, he sued Diddy for $4 million. Diddy pays Sting $750,000 a year in fees from their settlement as well.

My point wasn't that he didn't get paid, its that he doesn't get royalties because it was an uncleared samples.

[u/Relevant_Ad_69 → u/SwissMiss915]

Wild goal post shift

[u/halfofwhat]

I had an example but it turns out it was your example.

[u/PercyPenguin1973]

Diddy lost against Sting for Every Breath You Take. Sting actually commented that he gets about 2 grand a DAY because of that song.

[u/TheOriginalMr-Mud]

George Harrison lost his plagiarism “my sweet Lord”case to the writer of “he’s so fine”

[u/WestLondonIsOursFFC]

The original writers of "Killing Me Softly" got something like 98% of the publishing royalties of the Fugees version because it was decided Wyclef's extensive lyrics added virtually nothing to the song. That amused me no end.

[u/Professional-Side437]

I hate that Verve song. It literally makes my skin crawl

[u/upsidedowncreature]

I think the Rolling Stones also sued Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine over After The Watershed - it includes the line “Goodbye Ruby Tuesday”.

[u/neosoul2]

Steely Dan - Black Cow was sampled by Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz. They didn’t expect for the song to be so popular, and they never cleared the sample. There’s a video on YouTube of Fagan, laughing and rapping the lyrics.

[u/Narrow_Network_3875]

Puffy isn’t dumb. I believe he had Todd Gaither believe he’ll get his payday when the royalties are released. It’s also possible that Sting gave permission but still wanted 100% of the publishing. I’ve been there done that with Otis Redding’s family.

[u/Ok-Goat-3589]

It wasn’t a lawsuit, but Bring Me The Horizon *offered* Amy Lee full credit for Nihilist Blues when the identical vocal melody was highlighted.

They contacted her, that’s brilliant and that’s how it should be done.

[u/lowfreq33]

Since the stones have been mentioned, they avoided a lawsuit for Has Anybody Seen My Baby when Keith Richards daughter pointed out to him they had inadvertently ripped off KD Lang’s biggest song. The album hadn’t been released yet, they contacted her and worked out a deal for her to get a cut of the royalties.

Conversely, the Red Hot Chili Peppers song Dani California is famously very similar to the Tom Petty song Mary Jane’s Last Dance, and Tom didn’t pursue any legal action at all, stating that a lot of rock songs are similar and he wasn’t bothered by it. Which is a very Tom Petty thing to do.

[u/I_Vecna]

The Beach Boys lost writing credit of Surfin USA to Chuck Berry maybe?

[u/SwissMiss915 → u/I_Vecna]

Np, Chuck was simply added to the Beach Boys version. Wilson remained credited.

[u/I_Vecna → u/SwissMiss915]

On Spotify he’s the only one credited as writer and lyricist.

[u/Alternative-Meeting3]

Lou Reed got 100% of Tribe Called Quest’s Can I Kick It for a sample of a bassline he neither wrote, nor played.

[u/PPLavagna → u/Alternative-Meeting3]

It’s not just the bass. It’s a loop of the whole track. They totally ripped his song without permission and talked over it, he absolutely should get 100%