- (React) Today, we're playing a new game called Sampled or Stolen?
- Ooh. - Oh, mmm.
- (React) In each round, we'll play clips of two songs,
one of which an artist was sued by another for plagiarism.
- Oh! - Oh.
- (React) And you must decide if that artist stole that song,
or if it's just a mere coincidence,
and that's their own original sample.
- You decide! (laughs) - You decide!
- (React) The first case we have is Ed Sheeran vs. Marvin Gaye.
On August 10, 2016, the family of Ed Townsend,
who co-wrote Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On,
sued Ed Sheeran, alleging that the melodic, harmonic,
and rhythmic compositions of Thinking Out Loud
were strikingly similar to the drum composition of Let's Get It On.
So let's see, here's Thinking Out Loud.
- ♪ Will your mouth still remember ♪ ♪ The taste of my love ♪
- This song kinda gives me depression.
- I can already, I'm hearing Marvin Gaye,
'cause that's all I'm thinking about right now.
- ♪ And darling I will ♪
- I love Ed Sheeran, dude. He's so talented.
- He is.
- This was like a top, top, top song.
- He is a weird, he looks like a Gremlin,
I'm not gonna lie.
- I remember seeing him in Hollywood
before he became who he is.
- ♪ I've been really tryin', baby ♪
- Okay, I can now hear it a little bit.
- I'm going back and forth, because now I'm putting
Ed Sheeran's lyrics over his back track.
- The beat. - ♪ Boom, boom ♪
- Same chords. - Yeah, same, yeah.
- Same chords, it's like four chords, right?
- The root of the music is Marvin Gaye,
and like, that style of music.
Everyone pulls from that.
- ♪ Ah baby ♪ ♪ Let's get it on ♪
- I don't know, it's much different to me,
like when I hear them, especially next to each other,
I didn't think that it was that similar.
- (React) Do you think Ed Sheeran stole Marvin Gaye's melody?
Or was he merely sampling the common pop song?
- Personally, I think it was sampled,
because half of like all pop songs have the same chord progression.
(Izzy screams)
- If you get the business done, then we can say that it was sampled.
That's okay.
- Wait, so what happened?
Like, he just didn't ask them, or... - Heck no!
That's the reason why he got the lawsuit.
- I think sampled. - Woo!
- Not going to jail yet! (laughs)
Not yet, anyway!
- (React) The case was held by a jury in New York City in 2023,
and it found in favor of Ed Sheeran.
♪ (triumphant fanfare) ♪ - Yay!
- (React) So after winning the trial, Ed Sheeran said
these chords are, like I said, common building blocks,
which were used to create music long before Let's Get It On,
and it will be used to create music long after we are all gone.
- Even if this argument is old,
there were songs prior to then, and there'll be songs, long gone,
that's fine, totally fine,
but point me in the direction of what those other songs sound like
outside of Mr. Marvin Gaye, then I'll be quiet.
- (React) So, round two!
We have The Verve vs. The Rolling Stones.
The song in questioning is Bittersweet Symphony.
The Verve negotiated rights to use The Rolling Stones song
Last Time as a sample.
So they got approved by the record company,
however they did not obtain permission
from The Rolling Stones' former manager,
who owned the copyrights to The Rolling Stones' pre-1970s songs,
which included The Last Time.
And according to Verve's guitarist,
the dispute didn't actually depend on the sample,
but rather the vocal melody.
- Mm. - Hmm, that's difficult then.
♪ (upbeat music) ♪
- ♪ 'Cause it's a bittersweet ♪ ♪ Symphony ♪
- Good song, I really like this song.
- Oh, okay, yes.
- Oh, of course I know this.
- Why is he bumping into everybody on the way? (laughs)
Watch where you're going!
- ♪ I told you once ♪ ♪ And I told you twice ♪
- Okay, I hear it.
- The first one's like a half time version of The Rolling Stones.
- It's the same, but his is, they're more...
- It's a cadence. It's just like the cadence.
- Sped up. - Yeah, it's the cadence is just,
yeah, different, but it's the same.
♪ (both humming) ♪ Yeah, yeah.
- Did they really think they were gonna get away with that?
- That sucks, because honestly, if you had just showed me these two,
I would say they're totally different songs.
- Mm-hmm.
- But I feel like they kinda screwed themselves over,
by asking for the first permission.
- (React) Did The Verve stick to the sample agreement?
Or were the vocals stolen from The Rolling Stones?
Sampled or stolen?
- Honestly, I do feel like stolen would be the answer.
I feel like it's a problem only because
they got cleared for it, but then they didn't.
- I would have to say that they stole it,
because it's so similar to the other one.
- Yeah.
- Out of all the samples that you hear,
that one was pretty identical. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- (React) Well, the verdict stands, following a lawsuit,
The Verve relinquished all royalties to the former manager,
and the songwriting credits were changed to Jagger and Richards.
And the vocal singer of The Verve only received $1,000 in royalties.
- Damn!
So it got stolen. - (React) It got stolen.
- Damn, that sucks. 'Cause it's a really good song.
- That is messed up, dude! Wow!
- It is, it, God.
- What a snake ass way to go through that.
- You know what I mean?
- You see, this is why it's like stolen with sadness,
he deserved better.
- (React) We have Kanye West vs. a group called Thunder and Lightning.
The song in question is Kanye West's Gold Digger.
In April of 2013, singer David Pryor's children
filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Kanye West
for allegedly stealing the Get Down chants
from his band, Thunder and Lightning,
in their song, Bumpin' Bus Stop.
- ♪ She take my money ♪ ♪ When I'm in need ♪
♪ Yeah, she's a triflin' ♪ ♪ Friend indeed ♪
- This song is so good. (laughs)
- ♪ When I'm in need ♪ ♪ Yes ♪
- ♪ That digs on me ♪ - ♪ Uh ♪
- ♪ Now I ain't she a gold digger ♪
♪ Bus she ain't messin' with ♪ ♪ No broke, broke ♪
♪ Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger ♪ - ♪ Huh ♪
- Yeah, like still today, I would bump this, you know?
They can play this anywhere, and I would still get down. (laughs)
♪ Get down girl ♪ ♪ Go 'head, get down ♪
- Sitting in the back of my mom's car.
- ♪ Get down girl ♪ ♪ Go 'ahead, get down ♪
- ♪ We got the fuzz ♪ ♪ There for the bus stop ♪
♪ Step up ♪
- No.
- No, they're completely different things.
♪ (upbeat music) ♪
- It's very hard to just compare that.
- I'm not hearing it yet. - No. (laughs)
- Like at all.
- Wait, that's the whole one? (laughs)
- That's the... - Wait.
What are they claiming they stole?
- (React) They're claiming that they stole
the scratches of Get Down.
- Yeah, where was the get down? I was looking for that down.
- And I thought maybe I was listening wrong,
maybe I should've been listening to ♪ Give me money ♪
- Oh yeah, no that didn't hit there. - I was like wait a minute.
None of that.
- Yeah, I really think it's like, couldn't be more different honestly.
- Yeah.
- (React) So did Kanye West just stick to sampling Ray Charles,
or did he steal those get down chants
from Thunder and Lightning?
Sampled or stolen?
- (both) Sampled.
- Yes, sampled. - I wish I could hear it, like,
you know, I wish I could be like yeah, he totally stole that,
but I really don't.
- I, it's... - For sure.
- It can't not be sampled.
- (React) In August of 2014,
a federal judge threw out the majorities of the claim,
insisting that the distorted short samples
meant the work could not be easily recognized,
so it went in favor of Kanye West.
- Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Trust me, I promise you these ears are on, and...
- I did not hear down.
- Yeah, somebody... - At all.
- Just paid a bunch of lawyer fees for no reason.
- (React) We have Sam Smith vs. Tom Petty.
The song in question is Stay With Me.
So, Tom Petty's publisher contacted Sam Smith's team
after it noticed a likeliness between Stay With Me,
and the melody of Tom Petty's 1989 song I Won't Back Down.
Sam Smith defended themselves
saying that they never heard of I Won't Back Down
before writing Stay With Me, but is that true?
- Mmm, I feel like it is.
- ♪ These nights never seem ♪ ♪ To go to plan ♪
- Oh my God, he looks so young here, woo.
- Sam Smith's career has, it's like a roller coaster.
- ♪ Oh won't you stay with me ♪ - Why?
- I love this era, it's great.
- It's so different. - Giving a more gloomy vibe,
even though it's sunny outside, where he's at.
- This song will never, like, get old, you know?
- Yeah, no.
- ♪ Well, I won't back down ♪ ♪ No, I won't back down ♪
- Okay, yeah, this was stolen, come on now.
- (both) Oh! (laughs)
- Oh my God. - ♪ Won't you stay with me ♪
- That's tough. - It wasn't, yeah.
- I hear it, yeah. - Yeah, it's plain as day.
- ♪ Won't back down ♪ - Yep, we heard it.
- ♪ No, I won't back down ♪
- (React) Sampled or stolen?
- I think... (Raven gasps)
- Rat! - I mean...
- No, there's no way that that was like, stolen.
I think it's a different beat, it's a different set of lyrics.
It's its own thing.
- Somebody knew. - Somebody knew, yeah.
'Cause it was pretty identical. - Yeah.
I'm not gonna blame it on Sam, but somebody knew.
- His ghostwriter knew.
- I think this was obviously, he searched this song up
and said I really like this,
and I'm gonna pretend I just didn't hear it.
- I agree.
- (React) As I mentioned before, according to Sam Smith,
they had never heard I Won't Back Down
before writing Stay With Me,
but they acknowledged the similarly after listening to the song,
and said the likeness was a complete coincidence,
and Tom Petty received a 12.5% songwriting credit.
- Let's go! - Yeah, see?
- Come on! - Nice.
- Absolutely. - Hey.
- That's really good, considering that many people
that were a part of writing that.
- So stolen. - So stolen.
- Ugh!
It's almost impossible to not hear the similarities.
- Tom Petty wasn't in the room.
- Right.
- When they were making this song, you know what I mean?
And that's where, in the industry, it gets so gray,
and such a fine line of like who's a songwriter, and who's not.
- (React) But this is The Flaming Lips vs. Cat Stevens.
Fight Test by The Flaming Lips were thought to be
musically similar to Cat Stevens' Father and Son,
and it resulted in a lawsuit, alright, you guys ready?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- ♪ I thought I was smart ♪ ♪ I thought I was right ♪
♪ I thought it better not to fight ♪
- His lips are not flaming. (laughs) - Okay.
- ♪ So it came time to fight ♪ - Okay.
- ♪ How can I try to explain ♪ ♪ When I do, he turns away again ♪
- Oh, that's pretty identical. - Yeah, that's it, that's spot on.
- The chord progression, it's always the chord progression.
- Exactly.
- Like, it sounds like it's almost like a cover.
- Yeah.
- Like, The Flaming Lips like did their own cover.
- No, I, oof, that's difficult.
Again that is more of like an Ed Sheeran situation.
- (React) The Flaming Lips' frontman claims that he was unaware
of the songs' similarities until a producer pointed it out,
and he said, and I quote,
"I'm really sorry that Cat Stevens thinks
I purposely plagiarized his work.
There is obviously a fine line between inspired and stealing,
but if anyone wanted to borrow a part of a Flaming Lips song,
I don't think I'd bother pursuing it.
I've got better things to do."
- Ooh!
- It's like oh, I wouldn't do that, so why would you sort of thing.
That sounds scummy.
- (React) Do you believe Fight Test was its own sample?
Or do you think it stole from Cat Stevens?
- That was like so identical, dude. - Like, come on, guys.
Come on bro. - It was like the same song.
- Yeah, I think there's a case there too. (laughs)
- I think sampled.
Chord progressions on guitar are very hard to...
- Like, make different? - Distinguish, yeah to make different.
- (React) Following a settlement with The Flaming Lips,
Cat Stevens received 75% of the royalties from Fight Test,
and the frontman ended up confessing.
He said there was a time during the recording session
when we said this has a similarity to Father and Sons,
and we purposely changed those bits.
- But you wanna be cocky, and oh, you got better things to do.
- Damn, they gotta pull that petty [censored].
Like, they knew what they were doing.
- Oh, so he was guilty. - (React) He was guilty.
- He knew it!
- Guilty as charged. - He knew it!
- (React) Are you ready for the last one?
- Yep! - Mm-hmm!
- (React) The song in questioning is Blurred Lines.
Marvin Gaye's family in 2013
accused Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams' song, Blurred Lines
of copying the feel and sound of Got To Give It Up.
Here we go!
- ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪
♪ Woo ♪
♪ Tune me up ♪
- Robin Thicke is so Robin Thicke. (laughs)
- Oh gosh, I'm nervous. - I hate that it's catchy.
That's so frustrating.
- ♪ Maybe I'm going deaf ♪ ♪ Maybe I'm going blind ♪
♪ Maybe I'm out of my ♪
- ♪ Mind ♪
- ♪ I used to go out to parties ♪ ♪ And stand around ♪
- I mean, it's, it's, yeah.
- I feel like a lot of Robin Thicke's sound
is definitely from Marvin Gaye, you know?
- Mmm, I hear it a little bit.
- Very similar, like a very prominent bass line.
- It's like, the same instruments, you know?
- Robin Thicke, he has that style of...
♪ Oh ♪
He always has the falsetto. - Yeah, yeah.
- It's like almost identical to...
- Once it switched over to the next song,
I wasn't like oh, this is the same song,
but it was like oh, these have a lot of similarities.
Like the same components. - Mm-hmm.
- (React) Sampled or stolen?
- Sampled.
- I think it was heavily influenced, and heavily, maybe, inspired.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah, I'm gonna go with sampled. - Yeah.
- I mean, it's very, but I do see you,
if yours, I wouldn't be surprised.
- (React) The unanimous jury awarded Gaye's family $7.4 million in damages,
for copyright infringement,
and credited Marvin Gaye as a songwriter for Blurred Lines.
Though, many disagreed with the verdict.
- Literally what I said.
- (React) Since Blurred Lines and Got To Give It Up
were only similar in feel and genre.
- I hate how wish-washy everyone is with like lyrics,
songwriter, you mean like maybe a couple points is like composer.
- Nothing wrong with being inspired, I'll give him that.
But you know where that inspiration came from.
Come on, like let's keep it a buck. - You just know.
- As a songwriter, and a singer as well,
I write with a lot of people.
You have to remember who contributed to this,
and now we have an extra layer of like,
who already made this song before?
- You're gonna be inspired, there's so much music out there.
- Thank you!
- You might as well just give the credit.
- Thanks for watching this episode!
- Where do you stand in these rulings?
Let us know in the comments below!
- And be sure to subscribe to more REACT videos.
- (both) Bye!