Joe Satriani Sues ColdKay!

[Stig]

I finally found a reason to like Joe Satriani. I always thought his stuff sounded like instrumental Journey songs. I guess he was actually playing instrumental Coldplay songs.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rock guitarist Joe Satriani has sued British band Coldplay, accusing the Grammy-nominated stars of plagiarizing one of his songs.

Satriani's copyright infringement suit, filed on Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, claims the Coldplay song "Viva La Vida" incorporates "substantial original portions" of his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly."

The 52-year-old guitar virtuoso is seeking a jury trial, damages and "any and all profits" attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.

Coldplay, whose soaring atmospheric tunes are often compared to those of Irish rock band U2, received seven Grammy nominations on Wednesday, second only to rapper Lil Wayne.

Among its mentions were nominations in the key record and song of the year categories for "Viva La Vida," which comes from the band's chart-topping album "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends."

The song is credited to the band's four members, singer Chris Martin; bass player Guy Berryman; guitarist Johnny Buckland; and drummer Will Champion. The title was inspired by a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

The Satriani track comes from his album "Is There Love in Space?" Further comment from Satriani's attorney, or reaction from Coldplay's management was not immediately available.

[weeniewawa]

I like Joes stuff, at least the older stuff.

but coldkay sucks

why did their channel go away?

I am surprised sisius doesn't have a full time channel for them like bruce cumstain and the margarita guy

[d0uche_n0zzle]

The Coldplay channel was a paid for promotional channel.

Them record company cunts sure do love the old plugola.

[Jay Douglas]

ColdWHAT? Coldkay?

Their channel went away because the same "crazy person" who gave them the channel regained his sanity.

[Leeham]

I love Satrianis work, I have the full discography and the latest live DVD

Coldplay stinks, I'd rather listen to Satch Boogie or A Cool New Way than that horseshit any day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAalYg53V30
That got me really into Satriani, awesome improvisation

[fandango86]

Naaaaaahhhhh....It's a possibility!

1ofFw9DKu_I

[stellarcomics]

That is absolutely the same song.

[FAZ8218]

Wow that's pretty damn close.

[TeenBungle]

thievery!!!

[Absolutely]

I can't decide who I hate more, Coldplay or Satriani's stupid bald head and sunglasses.
For whatever reason, Satriani bored me.

The songs are similar I suppose, I mean I can definetly sing "If I can Ruuuuuuuuule the world" to Satriani's song. But I can only hear it because I'm looking for it.

Can't Coldplay just say they were "Sampling" and give Joe a few bucks to shut his mouth?

[sd187]

when did joe satriani turn into ahmet zappa?

[oandapartycock]

thievery!!!

Yep. They're robbing him blind.




(Can't believe it took 10 posts to get a lame blind joke in here).

[Stig]

ColdWHAT? Coldkay?

Their channel went away because the same "crazy person" who gave them the channel regained his sanity.

More likely, he was one of the hundreds they fired. :icon_lol:

[sniper]

I like Joes stuff, at least the older stuff.



I liked Joe until he started opening his mouth on his tracks.

[Hog's Big Ben]

Yep. They're robbing him blind.




(Can't believe it took 10 posts to get a lame blind joke in here).


:martianvirus:

[Absolutely]

"whaa"

Does he think that Satriani is blind because he's wearing sunglasses in the posted video?
:icon_mrgr

[oandapartycock]

I have his "Flying in a Blue Dream" album that came out in 1989. I remember like in '90 or '91 this stoner friend of mine turned me on to Satriani. He told me he played such kick-ass guitar because he was blind. Being young and stupid I bought it. All these years I thought he was blind, because he always wears those big shades. What a rube. :icon_cool

[LZMF1]

I liked Joe until he started opening his mouth on his tracks.exactly...awesome guitarist.......horrible singer

[Vyce]

I actually like Coldkay....er, Coldplay.

Yeah. I said it.

But they totally fucking stole this off Satriani. Pay up, boys.

[moegolden]

clearly they sound alike, but unless you could prove someone involved with the production of that song is an avid satriani listener, there should be no case.

if you've ever taken a music theory class - there's only a limited amount of progressions that make any sense to the ears....then filter that through western music conventions.....then filter that through pop music conventions.

think about the blues and just how many songs are exactly the same progression, sometimes transposed a step or two.

remember tracy chapman being awarded grammys for "gimme one reason to stay here"? that pissed me off to no end - while it was a nice song, we've heard variations of it literally a million times prior. In modern times, no one should win songwriting Grammys for anything consisting of a blues progression.

My point is that, at some point, our litigious society is going to clash with the mere logic of the limitations of music theory.

I've always thought George Harrison only payed money to the writers of "He's So Fine" for the tune of "My Sweet Lord" because he wasn't concerned with the money at all - that song was a religious experience for the guy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sweet_Lord#Legal_controversy

[Leeham]

Anyone want to pass this on to the boys? They seem pretty interested in this debacle...Jimmy calling him a douche was funny yesterday, Satriani is far from a jerk especially when he waits around after gigs to sign guitars and shit

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/joe_satriani_talks_about_coldplay_lawsuit.html

As previously reported, guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani revealed that he is planning to sue the band Coldplay on charges of plagiarism. Satriani claims that Coldplay’s song "Viva La Vida" sounds a bit too much like his own song "If I Could Fly". You can be the judge and hear the two songs, back to back, here.

In exclusive Musicradar.com interview conducted by Joe Bosso, the guitarist claims that taking the band to court was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was tired of being ignored.

"Everybody assumes I'm trying to go after these guys in Coldplay, as if I'm doing this with malice, that's the furthest thing from my mind. I'm just doing what I need to do as an artist, to protect what's mine, to protect those feelings I put down in song," Satriani says.

He added, "I did everything I could to avoid a court case with this situation. But oldplay didn't want to talk about it. They just wanted this whole thing to go away. Maybe they figured this little guitar player guy will leave them alone after a while, I don't know. But we're talking about a piece of art that I created, and that's something I feel is important. I think everybody should feel that way."

According to Satriani, there were never any doubts in his mind that "Viva La Vida" had taken elements from his own song. "I felt like a dagger went right through my heart. It hurt so much. The second I heard it, I knew it was ‘If I Could Fly’," he says. Satriani isn’t the only one who hears a similarity; he says his fans do to. "Almost immediately, from the minute their song came out, my e-mail box flooded with people going, ‘Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off man,’" he says. "I mean, I couldn't tell you how many e-mails I received. Everybody noticed the similarities between the songs. It's pretty obvious."

Coldplay have yet to release a statement regarding Satriani’s lawsuit but this isn’t the first time the band has been accused of plagiarism. Earlier this year the lead singer of The Creaky Boards accused the band of stealing "Viva La Vida" from one of their own songs, ironically titled "The Songs I Didn’t Write". The case fell through when The Creaky Boards couldn’t offer sufficient evidence that proved their accusations

[English Gent]

clearly they sound alike, but unless you could prove someone involved with the production of that song is an avid satriani listener, there should be no case.

if you've ever taken a music theory class - there's only a limited amount of progressions that make any sense to the ears....then filter that through western music conventions.....then filter that through pop music conventions.

think about the blues and just how many songs are exactly the same progression, sometimes transposed a step or two.

remember tracy chapman being awarded grammys for "gimme one reason to stay here"? that pissed me off to no end - while it was a nice song, we've heard variations of it literally a million times prior. In modern times, no one should win songwriting Grammys for anything consisting of a blues progression.

My point is that, at some point, our litigious society is going to clash with the mere logic of the limitations of music theory.

I've always thought George Harrison only payed money to the writers of "He's So Fine" for the tune of "My Sweet Lord" because he wasn't concerned with the money at all - that song was a religious experience for the guy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sweet_Lord#Legal_controversy


Yep, you're absolutely correct in what you say. The fact of the matter is that the chord progression used is a common one, and when you base your song around that chord progression there are a limited number of melodies that work with that progression and sound right. The progression itself suggests the melody, and what both Coldplay and Satriani have done is write a melody that is naturally suggested by the chord progression. See, also the track by 'The Creaky Boards', who previously alleged that Coldplay had ripped off one of their songs. Satriani is more or less unknown in the UK, as well, and I'd bet that no one in Coldplay had ever come across the Satriani track before writing 'Viva La Vida'

[mikeybot]

There's plenty of cases that have been successful. Granted I can only think of two at the moment, Huey Lewis "I Want a New Drug" and Ray Parker Jr "Ghostbusters" and Agent Orange(I forget what song) and Offspring "Come Out and Play"(or what ever that song is called).
Granted Offspring should be getting sued left and right for stealing riffs.

(and I've had the fucking Satch song stuck in my head since yesterday)

[Leeham]

Yep, you're absolutely correct in what you say. The fact of the matter is that the chord progression used is a common one, and when you base your song around that chord progression there are a limited number of melodies that work with that progression and sound right. The progression itself suggests the melody, and what both Coldplay and Satriani have done is write a melody that is naturally suggested by the chord progression. See, also the track by 'The Creaky Boards', who previously alleged that Coldplay had ripped off one of their songs. Satriani is more or less unknown in the UK, as well, and I'd bet that no one in Coldplay had ever come across the Satriani track before writing 'Viva La Vida'
I disagree, Satriani sells very well here in the UK

[BloodyDiaper]

Yep, you're absolutely correct in what you say. The fact of the matter is that the chord progression used is a common one, and when you base your song around that chord progression there are a limited number of melodies that work with that progression and sound right. The progression itself suggests the melody, and what both Coldplay and Satriani have done is write a melody that is naturally suggested by the chord progression

It could also be the case that the (stolen) melody suggests the chord progression.

What about the fact that they are also the same tempo, same key, etc? This is way too close to believe that they both coincidentally came up with it.

[moegolden]

It could also be the case that the (stolen) melody suggests the chord progression.

What about the fact that they are also the same tempo, same key, etc? This is way too close to believe that they both coincidentally came up with it.

Often the song key is merely based on matching the melody with the singer's voice - that's why a capo is any guitarist's secret weapon. I just don't think there's a case here, for the reasons listed in my previous post. as time moves on, we will see more and more cases like this.

It's very different than joke-stealing between stand-up comics who work the same area.
Topical humor often leads to parallel thinking (Leno and Letterman telling the same basic joke about Bush on the same night), since there are only six joke formulas, but word-for-word bits about random things from two guys who are based out of Boston raises a red flag.

[English Gent]

I disagree, Satriani sells very well here in the UK

I've yet to either hear his music on the radio in this country, see him mentioned on TV or radio, or see a CD of his in a music store. I'm sure that his stuff can be found in music stores, but we're talking niche stuff here.

[WhiskeyWhispers]

I've yet to either hear his music on the radio in this country, see him mentioned on TV or radio, or see a CD of his in a music store. I'm sure that his stuff can be found in music stores, but we're talking niche stuff here.

Same can be said for America. I think the last time I heard him mentioned or saw anything about him here was about 1989 or so, and he was only familiar to the guitar god dorks that worked at Sam Ash.

Most of the time when songs sound alike it's the rhythm guitar, not the melody. This shit is note for note. That's not coincidence. You can argue he may have done it subconsciously, but come on.

[BloodyDiaper]

I just don't think there's a case here, for the reasons listed in my previous post. as time moves on, we will see more and more cases like this.

I would argue with a couple points in that post:

1) clearly they sound alike, but unless you could prove someone involved with the production of that song is an avid satriani listener, there should be no case.

I don't believe Satriani's attorney will have to prove any such thing. Someone in the band could have heard it anywhere and internalized it not knowing who it was. Under the law it would still be a copyright violation. From the opinion in the Harrison case:

What happened? I conclude that the composer,12 in seeking musical materials to clothe his thoughts, was working with various possibilities. As he tried this possibility and that, there came to the surface of his mind a particular combination that pleased him as being one he felt would be appealing to a prospective listener; in other words, that this combination of sounds would work. Why? Because his subconscious knew it already had worked in a song his conscious mind did not remember. Having arrived at this pleasing combination of sounds, the recording was made, the lead sheet prepared for copyright and the song became an enormous success. Did Harrison deliberately use the music of He's So Fine? I do not believe he did so deliberately. Nevertheless, it is clear that My Sweet Lord is the very same song as He's So Fine with different words,13 and Harrison had access to He's So Fine. This is, under the law, infringement of copyright, and is no less so even though subconsciously accomplished. Sheldon v. Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corp., 81 F.2d 49, 54 (2d Cir. 1936); Northern Music Corp. v. Pacemaker Music Co., Inc., 147 U.S.P.Q. 358, 359 (S.D.N.Y.1965).
http://cip.law.ucla.edu/cases/case_brightharrisongs.html

2) think about the blues and just how many songs are exactly the same progression, sometimes transposed a step or two.

remember tracy chapman being awarded grammys for "gimme one reason to stay here"? that pissed me off to no end - while it was a nice song, we've heard variations of it literally a million times prior. In modern times, no one should win songwriting Grammys for anything consisting of a blues progression.

The difference is that "the blues" is a traditional song form owned by nobody. The melody and lyrics to a particular blues song can be copyrighted though, and there's no reason why they shouldn't be eligable to win Grammys.

[Leeham]

I've yet to either hear his music on the radio in this country, see him mentioned on TV or radio, or see a CD of his in a music store. I'm sure that his stuff can be found in music stores, but we're talking niche stuff here.

He certainly isn't "mainstream" by definition, I've never heard any instrumental music on the radio though and they don't have any for broadcast on the Hospital Radio station I volunteer at).

I live up in shitty North East England and he still sold out the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena. I bought his last 2 CDs and the last live DVD he did in 2006 in HMV aswell, so it is definately well circulated.

One of his songs was played at the Super Bowl this year though, that's pretty big right?
(Crowd Chant from album Super Colossal was played at some point, maybe between plays? Was during a US commercial, but was on BBC here so we heard that stuff a bit).

[English Gent]

.......he still sold out the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena

Yeah, but you lot 'up North' would go to the opening of a vein, for fuck's sake. :action-sm

[Earth2murf]

I want to sue coldplay for sucking so much...

[BCH]

This guy made a good video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEGGFJLpbu4

[THE FEZ MAN]

bah... i want my 9 minuets back...

[BCH]

bah... i want my 9 minuets back...

You weren't doing anything with them anyway.