Did Dua Lipa ACTUALLY Plagiarize Levitating?

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  • Опубліковано 5 бер 2022
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    Song Exploder Episode on Dua-Lipa
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    wayne marshall twitter thread Rosa Parks comparison
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    Dua Lipa - Levitating
    • Dua Lipa - Levitating ...
    Artikal Sound System - Live Your Life
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 9 тис.

  • @AdamNeely
    @AdamNeely  2 роки тому +983

    CORRECTIONS/ADDITIONS:
    1. It is very difficult to find concrete information about the song Live Your Life prior to the date the lawsuit was filed, and there is a popular Tik Tok conspiracy going around that Live Your Life is a hoax, and didn't actually come out in 2017, and instead was created specifically after the fact to sue Dua Lipa. That's...probably no true - the song probably WAS on spotify at one point, here is the link. open.spotify.com/album/70G0t4AnDAFPs23TZJgIMY?fbclid=IwAR04--wx8lrWMT2vjaNAypdSUq4lNrP2ZH6LQ0vXHSP_dW6jX5slIouaz3g. We can't hear the song Live Your Life, but there was A song called Live Your Life uploaded in 2017 as part of this EP, but it was removed at some point.
    The band at one point had a different singer, the Jamaican singer Monsoon Bedward, but all songs the band did with Monsoon have been removed from streaming services for reasons that are unclear. Monsoon, née Denton, is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit alongside the other current members of the band.
    2. Some people I'm sure will point out that Outkast's Rosa Parks is in a different key/harmonized differently than Levitating. This brings up 2 epistemic questions - is a song still a song if it is in a different key, or harmonized differently? Well (in the West anyway), yes! Mary Had a Little Lamb is still Mary Had a Little Lamb in the key of C, as well as Ab. It's still Mary Had a Little Lamb regardless of what chords are used in its harmony.
    So why would it be any different with Rosa Parks? Rosa Parks in still Rosa Parks in the key of G#m, as well as Bm, and it doesn't matter what chords go with Rosa Parks, it's still the same song.

    • @inhalemnt
      @inhalemnt 2 роки тому +2

      7

    • @marticosta
      @marticosta 2 роки тому +29

      It's interesting though that the guitars, the groove,the claps and the production sound similar in both the Live your life and levitating. Not to say they are the same because it's a very generic funky groove but it's worth noting.

    • @benjamineneman4276
      @benjamineneman4276 2 роки тому +46

      Brief (silly, possibly pedantic) correction: these would be metaphysical/ontological questions (questions about being) not epistemic questions (questions about knowing). Epistemically, we'd be concerned with how we might know one song referenced or cribbed another; we are ontologically concerned with whether a song is still the same song if you make some modification to it.

    • @Henchman_Holding_Wrench
      @Henchman_Holding_Wrench 2 роки тому +27

      (tin foil hat) What if the hoax song was given the same name as the 2017 song? And they're trying to pass it off as the old one we can't find mentions of or listen to? (/tin foil hat)

    • @SUNSHINE-t-m
      @SUNSHINE-t-m 2 роки тому +10

      @@marticosta The late 10s were the era of the glittery funk revival thanks to Daft Punk Chromeo Bruno Mars etc

  • @RICHFOW
    @RICHFOW 2 роки тому +15485

    As a song writer myself, I find it virtually impossible to find a melody or chord progression that sounds good and has not been done before.

    • @rendydevilzz
      @rendydevilzz 2 роки тому +915

      I think same rules can be applied to all other intelectual creativities. It is really hard to be original in this day and age, everything is pretty much done so far.

    • @chewnip86
      @chewnip86 2 роки тому +33

      ye same

    • @Suetheong6378
      @Suetheong6378 2 роки тому +405

      They are only suing her because of money and fame. If the artist or band was a nobody I completely doubt they will even bother.

    • @rajavlitra
      @rajavlitra Рік тому +22

      Save for jazz, maybe

    • @suminshizzles6951
      @suminshizzles6951 Рік тому +180

      Chord progressions you cant copyright. What will get Dua into trouble is the same melody and rhythm with nearly identical tempo and even a few words are the same. The songs are nearly identical and are very similar. So similar that when i heard the artikle song after i heard the dua song i knew she was in trouble.

  • @connormccartney2953
    @connormccartney2953 Рік тому +2521

    The better question is, why do so many songs that were written using the charleston have "moonlight", "starlight", and "all night" in them.

    • @shanedsouza189
      @shanedsouza189 Рік тому +353

      Because the dual syllable rhyming pattern just fits like a USB cable

    • @KayAteChef
      @KayAteChef Рік тому +118

      @@shanedsouza189 So... not the first time? Gotta flip it over? And then you realise you had it the first time but had to straighten up a bit?

    • @snoozyq9576
      @snoozyq9576 Рік тому +19

      Because it is so romantic 💞

    • @lutjemuller9753
      @lutjemuller9753 Рік тому +82

      Certain phrases just work in a songwriting context. If you dont want to be particularly creative with your topline and instead its just supposed to sound good, then going for phonetically beautiful words that have a lot of rhyme options and also a certain "dreamy" aspect to them, like starlight/moonlight (night, life, right/alright + easy transition into time, fine, rhyme, mine, etc.) or desire (higher, fire) is pretty much a must. Just take a look at the -light, night, life, right chain and pop chorus is pretty much writing itself. Sure, those words have been used a hundred million times before, but they will used a hundred million times in the future aswell, because they just work too well and are to easy to utilize.

    • @TheSteviebobevie
      @TheSteviebobevie Рік тому +31

      It’s undeniably a cosmic groove

  • @Warhamsterxxx
    @Warhamsterxxx Рік тому +1995

    In the College of Fine Arts in The University Of The Philippines, the first thing we were taught was that no one has a completely original idea. Everyone's creative output is somehow influenced by art that they have been exposed to.

    • @nickmatthewsmusicstudio
      @nickmatthewsmusicstudio Рік тому +23

      A lawyer enters the chat: time to make some money!

    • @ongbak9475
      @ongbak9475 9 місяців тому +2

      Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

    • @whdgk95
      @whdgk95 9 місяців тому +14

      It's the dissonance between copyright law and nature of art. Essentially, the clash of ideals between capitalism and art.

    • @lawrencejelsma8118
      @lawrencejelsma8118 7 місяців тому +1

      There is also the fact someone may have used the same music sounds but didn't have good enough instruments to carry the tune to the next level. I'd personally like to hear Dua Lipa's version over the previous two versions because those artists just sat on not improving their "original tune" if they cared for it so (David Bowie's 1973 Space Oddity went through instrumentation changes of using a synthesizer to make it sound better). In those two versions before Dua Lipa (including the Rosa Parks probably original sound concepts) ... They horribly left that tune unfinished to become a more pleasant and groovy sound in music of more energy. The 2017 versional one is so islander bongo distorted only appealing to mambo music listeners and wasn't made for discotheques to light up their club floors with that Dua Lipa was able to create (or recreate from a mumbled tune).

  • @TrapGod_JackofAllTrades
    @TrapGod_JackofAllTrades 2 роки тому +23356

    Let's hope that no one ever actually manages to copyright a musical concept, because that would set back musical progress for decades.

    • @GerardPerry
      @GerardPerry 2 роки тому +491

      I realize it's anathema to most people, but the best solution would be to do away with the concept of intellect property altogether. Stephan Kinsella, a libertarian patent lawyer, wrote a monograph-Against Intellectual Property-which lays out the case in a systematic way.

    • @sacriste
      @sacriste 2 роки тому +56

      Done, Blurred Lines.

    • @JohnLRice
      @JohnLRice 2 роки тому +239

      @@GerardPerry Stephan Kinsella seems like a big hypocrite? I haven't read his books but if he is actually against "intellectual property" why is he selling his many books for $5 to $200 each? He should just write them and then post a copy online and say please freely distribute! 😂 People just want free stuff and they don't care how much creators suffered to create it (time/expense/frustration/self doubt/rejection/starvation/poor health/poor living conditions/bad transportation/bad clothes/etc)

    • @gingganggoolie
      @gingganggoolie 2 роки тому +40

      @yourmanwatson I'm not sure it would change much about who makes money in the industry. The only artists that make money now are those with a dedicated fan base willing to support them.

    • @gingganggoolie
      @gingganggoolie 2 роки тому +25

      @yourmanwatson I'm far from a hard-line anti-copyright type, but I don't see how removing it would prevent artists from making money. Artists should be rewarded for their work, sure, but I don't think copyright is the way to do that

  • @starrynight2274
    @starrynight2274 2 роки тому +4742

    Litterally 80% of musical plagiarism controversies sound absolutely ridiculous when you actually know music theory lmao

    • @dorkmork7349
      @dorkmork7349 2 роки тому +235

      Such facts, especially once you learn about chord progressions are used over and over again

    • @mobilenotherwise5000
      @mobilenotherwise5000 2 роки тому +285

      There's only so many notes on the piano, you're bound to play a similar melody anytime

    • @mariokarter13
      @mariokarter13 2 роки тому +114

      And then you listen to someone that knows music theory explain why it's not copyright infringement and they sound like Vanilla Ice. "It goes ‘ding ding ding di di ding ding… ding ding ding di di ding ding.’ That’s the way theirs goes. Ours goes ‘ding ding ding di di ding ding… DING… ding ding ding di di ding ding.’ That little bitty change - it’s not the same."

    • @user-xt4ox1nt7i
      @user-xt4ox1nt7i 2 роки тому +17

      @@mariokarter13 literally this vid lol

    • @user-xt4ox1nt7i
      @user-xt4ox1nt7i 2 роки тому +12

      ​@@mobilenotherwise5000 literally me most of the time when I try to write a song, few minutes later comes the realization

  • @kitecorbin3914
    @kitecorbin3914 Рік тому +628

    If you've ever gotten into a genre of music that you've never listened to before, (country, classical, etc.) And listen to a whole playlist by different artists . . . the songs all sound extremely similar, especially if you haven't heard the songs before or don't know the genre. That overall sound is what MAKES the genre, and your ears cannot differentiate because you are not yet 'trained' to hear the difference.

    • @mechantechatonne
      @mechantechatonne 10 місяців тому +7

      For sure. Sometimes I'll listen to an album and literally I can't tell where one song ends and another begins.

    • @ididsomeunspeakablethingsa4899
      @ididsomeunspeakablethingsa4899 10 місяців тому +4

      @d R country road music is guilty of this

    • @Lishtenbird
      @Lishtenbird 9 місяців тому +11

      It's not even limited to music. You can show someone a couple anime episodes, and they'll say they're "all the same"; but if you watched a couple hundred series, you'll start recognizing the era, the studio's style, which directors prefer what, and maybe even artist styles from the source material. Hell - we can go as far as "every [insert ethnicity] looks the same"... Humans operate on patterns, but to form them, you need experience to form those reference points - until then your mind will generalize everything into "the same" category.

    • @anthonyfaiell3263
      @anthonyfaiell3263 9 місяців тому +7

      Ok so, trained ear here, multiple years of music theory in college, played hundreds of gigs throughout my life with various different groups. Worked as a studio musician for years.
      .
      It's not about hearing or not hearing the genre. It is genre specific. Country all sounds the same because it IS all the same... Most pop genres are extremely generic, because they are specifically crafted to be that way. The majority of people who consume music are NOT trained musicians. What they look for in music is security and comfort, and that is achieved by making everything sound the same. It's usually generic backing tracks with vaguely relateable lyrics, because lyrics is really what people who have never studied music theory relate to.
      .
      Genres like classical are the exact opposite of this (for the most part). There were some generic composers, but a lot of composers created pieces from a scope of music theory, not public opinion. Therefore naturally, classical music is way more complex than the average modern pop song. And this complexity is one of the things that gives it identity and allows us to differentiate between them.
      .
      In other words, even if I have heard PLENTY (more than I would ever have wanted to) country and can tell the difference between songs I know... The core progression of the songs will most likely all be the same. Because that's how pop genres (genres made for the public, aka people who never studied music theory) work.
      .
      You don't see any of these traits in non-pop genres like classical, jazz, progressive, etc.

    • @MsZzSmith
      @MsZzSmith 9 місяців тому +3

      ⁠@@anthonyfaiell3263you basically said the same thing as kitecorbin, just with twice as many words, and a lot more snobbery. Lol

  • @5150crazyfun
    @5150crazyfun Рік тому +214

    I've seen this happen more often lately. In most cases, the less successful artist or band are the ones suing for "infringement". With that being said, I'm certainly no musical expert, but it sounds to me like several songs use similar musical keys and notes. It's one thing to be influenced by other songs, but it's another to say someone ripped off your song because of a similar musical arrangement. Because all music is ripping off of other musical influences and sounds in some manner. There should be millions of lawsuits if the basis to sue is that one song sounds like another.

    • @xyz335
      @xyz335 Рік тому +40

      Technically, the band suing Dua should be sued for infringement too, considering they "stole" the beat, melody and chords from the Jackson 5 and Outkast. They're trying to sue Dua for doing exactly what they did. Only difference is they are nobodies so nobody could call out their "plagiarism".

    • @elusivelectron
      @elusivelectron Рік тому

      Happens more than you'd think. Take this example.
      ua-cam.com/video/5pidokakU4I/v-deo.html

    • @philfitnesspt6139
      @philfitnesspt6139 6 місяців тому +1

      ​@@xyz335dua lipa won the case it was thrown out as it should be as per your comments. The nerve of those poeple

  • @andrlop6772
    @andrlop6772 2 роки тому +13089

    every time there's a plagiarism I think to myself "oh boy can't wait for the adam neely video"

    • @merlinthetuna
      @merlinthetuna 2 роки тому +79

      And conversely it's fun to see the thumbnail and immediately know there's a new spurious copyright suit afoot

    • @redtwox9708
      @redtwox9708 2 роки тому +39

      Yep, saw Rick Beato's video a couple of days ago and instantly thought, "Can't wait to see what Adam has to say about this".

    • @mathiasnyhamn9304
      @mathiasnyhamn9304 2 роки тому +20

      Repetition legitimizes

    • @savourymilkman8147
      @savourymilkman8147 2 роки тому +9

      its theft not plaigirism dont dick around this is bullshit

    • @toadfrommarioparty
      @toadfrommarioparty 2 роки тому +4

      I guess you can wait because this video came out almost two years after the song came out

  • @gregarmstrong2500
    @gregarmstrong2500 2 роки тому +6057

    I can attest to how easy it is to accidentally copy a song. My band wrote a new song a little while ago and we were excited to play it live. A week before the show, I listened to an album in a similar genre and the main riff in our song was a note for note copy of one of the songs on that album.
    Literally no one in the band had noticed (despite it being a pretty popular album in the genre that we had all probably heard before at some point).
    Musical genres sound the way they do because of patterns and tropes. If enough people are writing in the same genre, it's more or less guaranteed that those patterns and tropes will eventually manifest in the same way more than once.

    • @dackattac
      @dackattac 2 роки тому +489

      I remember in college I wrote a song for a band I was in at the time and immediately after I thought "...this is a Bad Religion chorus. I couldn't tell you which song I inadvertently copied, but I bet Bad Religion could probably litigate if we released this." But I couldn't find a specific song that I note-for-note copied... until their _next_ album came out. The chorus I 'copied' was the one from "Before You Die", but it wasn't a song that existed when I wrote mine. (I hadn't seen them live or sought out any live concert footage that would have exposed me to an unreleased song.)
      People grossly overestimate the amount of malicious intent behind similar-sounding songs, the push and pull of tension/resolution of melody, harmony, rhythm, etc really can guide you to take similar paths as your fellow musical travelers.

    • @Bree420
      @Bree420 2 роки тому +180

      @@dackattac imagine, if you had published your song first, with the right lawyer you might actually struck gold and get a settlement behind the scene lol (im joking)

    • @gregarmstrong2500
      @gregarmstrong2500 2 роки тому +172

      @@imnothb I'm not sure why we're suddenly talking about anyone's toe nails, but influence aside, I wasn't saying that they don't sound similar. I was simply stating that, just because they sound similar, that doesn't mean either party copied from anyone else. They were both just taking a set of commonly used ideas in the genre that they were writing and putting them together.
      There are only so many chord patterns that sound like disco funk. It's likely you'll be writing in the key of Bm or Em, as those are preffered keys for bassists (who tend to drive funk music). Your melody will more than likely be mostly composed of the notes in the pentatonic minor scale (so you've only really got 5 notes to choose from). You're probably likely to employ rhythmic language that is common in funk (otherwise, your song won't sound like funk) like, for example the charleston.
      There are thousand and thousands of songs released every year. If we start opening lawsuits every time the limited set of tools available to musicians happen to manifest in a similar order, the music industry is in a very bad place. We, as musicians, have to accept that this kind of thing is going to happen. Sometimes it's deliberate. Sometimes it's not. There's no way to prove either way. In every other scenario, we use "innocent until proven guilty". Why should it be different here?

    • @noncatholiccatholicrat6309
      @noncatholiccatholicrat6309 2 роки тому +99

      @@imnothb did you not read his comment??? It was literally a detailed explanation of how Dua or her team could’ve come with the a song completely similar to the other band’s song coincidentally. Just because millions of people listen to her doesn’t mean she has to appologygse for creating a song that is simple enough to have been created before. That’s how pop music works: it’s not original or complex(that’s what makes it popular, because it’s catchy). Therefore many pop songs have been written originally but are the same or similar songs. If you studied music theory enough you would understand this.
      You should focus more on why Dua’s song blew up more than the other bands song. A song, especially in pop music, has A LOT MORE to it then just the melody or chord progression. besides the differing influences within the production, Dua’s vocal tone, vocal ability, visuals, the way she marketed herself and worked to promote it, and the lyrics are all a big part of what made her song so successful. Pop music is like 1/8th the actual sonic part of the music.

    • @visualdarkness
      @visualdarkness 2 роки тому +13

      Yeah, I was sitting at home trying to make a new riff. Played something simple that I was recording thinking it was awesome. It was a one note difference from Breaking the Law by Judas Priest and I just didn't realize it at the time.

  • @berries.0f.blu3
    @berries.0f.blu3 Рік тому +63

    Keep in mind the Star Spangled Banner has the Charleston rhythm multiple times (in Clarinet, it’s high F, high D, high Bb in Charleston as the first notes)
    Honestly, people these days

    • @stizan9185
      @stizan9185 10 місяців тому +1

      Its a rhythm that has been used since forever, its also called Lombard or Scotch snap

    • @SoundsOfTheWild3
      @SoundsOfTheWild3 7 місяців тому +1

      Its also in old Celtic music

  • @infairvarona
    @infairvarona 9 місяців тому +71

    I’m still convinced that this video single-handedly helped Dua Lipa win her case, Adam supporting artists whilst also entertaining us, king sh*t!

  • @Saturn-lk6rk
    @Saturn-lk6rk 2 роки тому +8056

    Theres not enough music notes in the world for EVERY song to be unique. EDIT: Apparently some
    People don’t understand what I mean. After YEARS there will not be enough music notes to create a song that doesn’t sound like another song.
    SECOND EDIT: It’s so funny to me that people are still fighting over this, I honestly just come back to read these replies because this shit has me laughing my ass off

    • @PancakesTsuki
      @PancakesTsuki 2 роки тому +635

      I’m sure there is kinda a way for every song in the world to be unique but that would results in basically alien music nonsensical melody’s and such XD

    • @redi6460
      @redi6460 2 роки тому +44

      @@PancakesTsuki yes 😂😂

    • @Saturn-lk6rk
      @Saturn-lk6rk 2 роки тому +23

      @@PancakesTsuki well yes but at some point you’d think

    • @seraphini1248
      @seraphini1248 2 роки тому +143

      it doesn't have to be unique, this was obviously stolen, how do you say the same rhyming lyric on the same note on the same beat, within a 3 year difference, the answer is simple.

    • @redbitch3362
      @redbitch3362 2 роки тому +15

      Disagree

  • @20thCenturyPox
    @20thCenturyPox 2 роки тому +5340

    I think we need a musicologist to explain how this Artikal Sound System song was ever on a Reggae chart

    • @Santiino
      @Santiino 2 роки тому +129

      Its not a bad song and kinda better than levitating

    • @clf400
      @clf400 2 роки тому +577

      @@Santiino they could at least get a competent singer

    • @yearnpill
      @yearnpill 2 роки тому +579

      @@Santiino never say that again

    • @Sergio-nb4hj
      @Sergio-nb4hj 2 роки тому +874

      @@Santiino Not the point. Point is it's not a reggae song lmao

    • @LiamLynchPhotographer
      @LiamLynchPhotographer 2 роки тому +55

      Because the original version came out with the old front-man of the band and, given what little I heard of his style and their recognition in such circles, and the venues and festivals they played, I am sure it made sense at the time. Their album (not the song) charted in April 2017, and then they appear live online in September without him, so I gather he left and they thought the band was toast, and didn't make hay at the time.

  • @thahardman
    @thahardman Рік тому +7

    Dude, this is an awesome analysis! Nice work

    • @milanforever7014
      @milanforever7014 Рік тому

      no it's not ahhahahaahahah

    • @mcinsc2422
      @mcinsc2422 23 дні тому

      @@milanforever7014 "i'll spam laughs so i don't have to say anything else and feel like i'm smart"

  • @cmyk8964
    @cmyk8964 Рік тому +173

    The “I’m levitating” scale (F♯ E D B A) is also the same melody used as the main riff of Unity by TheFatRat (B A G E D), except that’s in swing time. They’re both the 5th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, and 7th of their respective minor keys.

    • @awilddragonfly8298
      @awilddragonfly8298 Рік тому +1

      Where is it in unity?

    • @cmyk8964
      @cmyk8964 Рік тому +16

      @@awilddragonfly8298 It’s the main melody. You can’t miss it.

    • @pete5516
      @pete5516 Рік тому +7

      @@cmyk8964 yep, haven’t heard that song in many years but as soon as I read your comment I knew exactly which part you are talking about.

    • @Edgeperor
      @Edgeperor Рік тому +4

      It’d be so stupid but I’d love to see thefatrat sue someone

    • @ilyquackio
      @ilyquackio Рік тому +1

      @@Edgeperor well he got copyrighted for his own song so idk

  • @dontbanmebrodontbanme5403
    @dontbanmebrodontbanme5403 Рік тому +3682

    This is similar to when Katy Perry got sued for "Dark Horse". I loved the song, but when I heard the "original", I was certain she plagiarized. Until I heard the 15,000 other songs that used the same beat she did. Simply put, there are only so many chord progressions and chances are good, every song is a slight modification of another song already created.

    • @rahelesousanabadi556
      @rahelesousanabadi556 Рік тому +32

      I strongly agree

    • @komfyrion
      @komfyrion Рік тому +93

      I remember some time a few months ago I was humming to myself and improvising something in 7/8. I eventually landed on a pretty cool rhythm that I figured would be a pretty cool riff on guitar. I actually recorded my humming at the time and when I listened back to it later I realised it was basically just a slight variation of the main riff of "Them Bones" by Alice in Chains (exact same rhythm).
      I felt a bit embarassed for having inadvertedly copied a riff from a song, but I also think the "Them Bones" riff's rhythm is just a fairly cool rhythm in 7/8. It wouldn't have been copyright infringement if I used that rhythm in a 7/8 song. I also think the vocabulary in 7/8 is a bit more limited than 4/4 since a lot of stuff can feel too unintuitive and out there so that you can't really feel the groove anymore (not that that stops prog bands or jazz musicians, lol).

    • @impermanence4300
      @impermanence4300 Рік тому +38

      @@komfyrion you're not the only one. Every time I think I've written a cool riff while messing around it turns out it's actually a Bolt Thrower riff.

    • @tarxCS
      @tarxCS Рік тому +4

      Unless you are polyphia

    • @halycon404
      @halycon404 Рік тому +16

      Meh. I always go back to classical on these cases. It's well documented, well out of copyright, and somewhere in the thousands and thousands of pieces of sheet music are the exact notes being litigated over. They weren't plagiarizing. They were paying homage to the czech composer Zelenka, or whomever. Every single time I've taken the time to look I've found an example well out of copyright. Pop music is just too.. and I don't mean this in a bad way... simple. Symphonies and concertos throw so many ideas at the wall and play with them there's always going to be a section of one somewhere that fits perfectly.

  • @cvillalta
    @cvillalta 2 роки тому +3889

    from an improvisation standpoint i actually believe the story they told in the podcast, you could compose levitating without conciously plagiarizing any of the other songs. They took a common chord progression and rythmic pattern in the genre they were aiming for and they played a little with it. It is a huge coincidence, but it's possible

    • @funkahontas
      @funkahontas 2 роки тому +88

      Now, if the Artikal song had the descending melody from the beginning then yeah, they would have a case since those are 2 independent ideas, but just the melody and chord progression ? Seems like a cashgrab attempt and seeking their 15 minutes of fame.

    • @bubbletea6923
      @bubbletea6923 2 роки тому +24

      Ok I'm a classical guy. But honestly if they were copying a work, unless they were trying to tribute another composer or artist (like John Williams), wouldn't they at least try to hide it? Idk, a lot of music can be coincidental though, especially given the simplicity of pop music, limiting of rhythm will probably mean there becomes limited variations in movement (theoretically movement is basically almost entirely limited to arpeggiated and scalic movement). This was bound to happen at some time. Don't know how people compose pop music though, so...

    • @anteshell
      @anteshell 2 роки тому +33

      It is, in fact, quite far from a huge coincidence for the exact reasons you said yourself: took a common chord progression and aimed towards well known tropes and elements from those genres and time period. Improvisation isn't exactly creating something completely new to you. It is you unconsciously remembering patterns you already know and applying them to what ever you are working on because you intuitively know that would work.

    • @RandomGuyCDN
      @RandomGuyCDN 2 роки тому +5

      The fact that the intro literally sounds completely the same doesnt seem like a coincidence

    • @PinksInMyArea
      @PinksInMyArea 2 роки тому +27

      @@RandomGuyCDN have you even watched the video?? it's obvious that both bands took inspo from otkast, at least dua was straight foward about it not like the other dudes who claim the sound as theirs

  • @aidyleemusic300
    @aidyleemusic300 5 місяців тому +3

    This is why song writers must record every writing session be it voice recorder or video. Awesome analysis & channel dude.

  • @ivantandyo
    @ivantandyo 10 місяців тому +9

    “There is always Prior Art” agree.. and i believe that past art inspires the new ones. And thats what makes Music Beautiful! ❤

  • @starfox300
    @starfox300 2 роки тому +3391

    It's interesting that 2 bands can have almost the same song but one blows up and the other is almost unknown.
    Really shows you how much image and marketing matters for your success

    • @TheeBlackSilhouette
      @TheeBlackSilhouette 2 роки тому +57

      Just like “Night of Nights” and “Sakuya’s theme”

    • @demoth
      @demoth 2 роки тому +90

      same thing happen to "this is america" and "american pharoah". jase harley didnt sue childish gambino tho

    • @DragonX5536
      @DragonX5536 2 роки тому +26

      @@TheeBlackSilhouette Touhou Hijack Lol!
      The biggest Touhou example would be Bad Apple for sure. From an rather unknown (not even Window Era) game to the biggest Touhou hit ever xD I doubt many even think it started out not even as a boss, but a mere stage theme.

    • @stefan_4508
      @stefan_4508 2 роки тому +361

      I mean the production on dua lipas song is 1000x better and her vocals are much more punchy and catchy. Just cos the songs are very similar musically does not mean that they are of the same quality. Obviously image and marketing plays in but let’s not act like if the other song was marketed the same it would have done as well as levitating

    • @ChrisParayno
      @ChrisParayno 2 роки тому +2

      exactly! there are too many petty cases in the music industry.

  • @guynakash
    @guynakash 2 роки тому +2303

    What's fascinating about this is that people are still claiming copyright infringement for the most basic chord progressions and melodies as if they invented them, yes, it's 2020 and you're the first, brilliant, brilliant musician who thought about this sound and melody!
    Nobody else has ever heard of it before you came along, it took millions of years of evolution, thousands of years of music and countless artists to get to you, you wizard of notes and chords, to hook these 4 bars and improvise this, oh my god indeed, bravo.

    • @erickzamora921
      @erickzamora921 2 роки тому +41

      You’re funny 🤣 keep writing

    • @Dragoon960
      @Dragoon960 2 роки тому +29

      Right? I’m trying to remember the comedian, but he literally sings like 10 pop songs all with the same chords to the melody of Pachelbel’s Canon

    • @erickzamora921
      @erickzamora921 2 роки тому +13

      @@Dragoon960 bo burnham ? Maybe poking fun at how most pop songs play into our love of simplicity and repetition

    • @moufinman676
      @moufinman676 2 роки тому +6

      Hasn’t nearly been thousands of years but ok

    • @erickzamora921
      @erickzamora921 2 роки тому +18

      @@moufinman676 how long has it been ? Curiously

  • @Zothimus
    @Zothimus Рік тому +4

    Excellent breakdown! Outkast respect!!

  • @nitroblc
    @nitroblc 10 місяців тому

    Hey that was a great analysis on the lawsuit, really broke it down for me! Thanks man!

  • @finne0n
    @finne0n 2 роки тому +3433

    Dua's album is called "Future Nostalgia" because it deliberately utilizes common motifs from earlier popular music (causing nostalgia) while combining it with modern music trends (from the future)...

    • @arelizah
      @arelizah Рік тому +118

      ok but did she ask to use it

    • @sam-ck3fk
      @sam-ck3fk Рік тому +8

      Yes u r right

    • @theengineer_16
      @theengineer_16 Рік тому +9

      This has to be pinned.

    • @yvnswuqhqhqj
      @yvnswuqhqhqj Рік тому +101

      @@arelizah dude at least she gave credit

    • @dawidorlowski1620
      @dawidorlowski1620 Рік тому +44

      Oh i thought it was called that becuase it would be Nostalgia in the future

  • @atoaster1209
    @atoaster1209 2 роки тому +1673

    Adam just looks so, so, **so** tired of having to do this again.

    • @needlessnoise
      @needlessnoise 2 роки тому +65

      it's the unshaven-ness that's helping with that effect

    • @ashraffaridharis5570
      @ashraffaridharis5570 2 роки тому +78

      @@needlessnoise he plagiarized that effect off of me. Submitting lawsuit as I speak

    • @natan4195
      @natan4195 2 роки тому +1

      makes for entertaining videos though!

    • @Arrrow54
      @Arrrow54 2 роки тому +2

      The person who picked up is himself tho...means he likes this kind of topic, huh?

    • @laserbeamlightning
      @laserbeamlightning 2 роки тому +3

      It’s free views

  • @Weeela
    @Weeela 9 днів тому

    Wow, amazing and really informative breakdown of this case. I was baffled how this was NOT a copyright infringement but hadn't even thought about the similarities to Rosa Parks (how did I not hear that from the beginning?!). Thanks for deepening my music knowledge!

  • @fritsvanzanten3573
    @fritsvanzanten3573 Рік тому +33

    Finally, I was instantly attracted to the Dua Lipa song, and watching this video, I realized it's because of that final bar ('I'm levitating'). It seems reasonable to me to think that's the twist that made it make more money than the 'common', less inspired bar in the (claimed) 'original'.

    • @nicojar
      @nicojar 5 місяців тому +4

      Don't overthink it, honey. I'm pretty sure you think you came with a smart comment but you like a song with four chords. If you need one more note to be "instantly attracted" and think that's why it made money, rather than the doll singing it and the way she moves, you live in a musical desert and it's time you travel and listen to more (different) music.

    • @CanItAlready
      @CanItAlready 2 місяці тому +5

      ​@@nicojarYou're telling on yourself.
      I liked the song without having ever seen Dua Lipa. It's got a bounce that's missing from the other two songs.

  • @rustee.shackleford
    @rustee.shackleford 2 роки тому +2078

    Given the degree of similarity, it is highly unlikely that the Artikal Sound System "Smoke & Mirrors" album art was created independently from "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City".

    • @HarshvardhanKanthode
      @HarshvardhanKanthode 2 роки тому +18

      The Vice city font style isn't copyrighted I believe

    • @BrodinYT
      @BrodinYT 2 роки тому +151

      @@HarshvardhanKanthode It’s Just Satire. Lol

    • @ameeshnarayan8016
      @ameeshnarayan8016 2 роки тому +29

      @@HarshvardhanKanthode meanwhile the whole game is inspired from scarface.

    • @AfroGaz71
      @AfroGaz71 2 роки тому +2

      @@BrodinYT poorly done though. Lol!

    • @RC-md2yx
      @RC-md2yx 2 роки тому +2

      @@ameeshnarayan8016 lol yes

  • @yaanno
    @yaanno 2 роки тому +3590

    How on earth an incredibly simple chord progression can be "owned" by someone never ceases to amaze me. Maybe we should go into details like how they used a Roy Ayers vocal riff?

    • @Breeze1
      @Breeze1 2 роки тому +104

      Its the same chord progression, rhythm and melody

    • @velenvskaelhas
      @velenvskaelhas 2 роки тому +141

      @@Breeze1 And the lyrics are bordering on similarity too, the Dua Lipa writers just gotta pay up and move on.

    • @fridabear1874
      @fridabear1874 2 роки тому +5

      @janos hardi hm it's a little more than that buddy...and sadly easily paid off by overly paid popstars

    • @GuinessOriginal
      @GuinessOriginal 2 роки тому +22

      You’d be shocked how many words and phrases are owned by celebrities and corporations in the USA, to the extent that no one else can use them to promote themselves and/or their brand. Ridiculous but unfortunately true

    • @yaanno
      @yaanno 2 роки тому +33

      @@fridabear1874 I get it. I'm not a musicologist. All I'm saying is it feels somehow wrong that musical structures and progressions can be owned. To me as an average listener these are different songs albeit they share similar structures. It would be much more fun if the pop scene would incorporate the classic hip-hop beef attitude instead of sending an army of lawyers after an other group.

  • @dougdrazga4461
    @dougdrazga4461 Рік тому +17

    Just noticed this when comparing "Arjen's Bag" by John McLaughlin, "Follow Your Heart" by Joe Farrell (which is credited to and includes McLaughlin) and "Day's Eye" by Soft Machine (which does neither). So, this isn't new, and "there's always prior art" is a great way to describe it.

  • @rkay.gaming
    @rkay.gaming Рік тому

    The two painting/rectangle pieces on the wall behind you are skewed and triggering my OCD. Almost felt like my head is spinning. :)
    Fascinating to hear how you analyze music and how deep the research goes into it.

  • @DorianDeLuca
    @DorianDeLuca 2 роки тому +3142

    How lucky are we to be alive in a time when this kind of thoughtful, reasoned exploration of topics with broad influence is available to anyone and everyone? Outstanding work, as always, sir.

    • @pred7949
      @pred7949 2 роки тому +11

      he works harder to consider himself Switzerland than to choose a side.

    • @galileeo
      @galileeo 2 роки тому +2

      Not everyone speaks english though.. but i agree maybe in the future audio translations and subtitles will be automatized or something.. getting closer for everyone

    • @keeptaiwanfree
      @keeptaiwanfree 2 роки тому +1

      @@galileeo Uh, he’s not the only one in the world who talks about this subject… you can find people who speak all sorts of languages who are educated about this.

    • @tubester4567
      @tubester4567 2 роки тому +5

      Except he made a mistake when he said "Blame it on the boogie" was written/invented by African Americans, or was "culturally appropriated" by white people. The song was written by a white English guy, as were many of the Jackson's hits. The song credits for "Blame it on the boogie" says "Mick Jackson". Thats not the same person as Michael Jackson. People assume it is, but its not. Mick Jackson is a white English guy, he wrote and performed the song, it was released in the UK and charted. Then it was sold to the Jackson Family at a music trade event.

    • @user-pk4sd9dd2w
      @user-pk4sd9dd2w 2 роки тому

      it sounds like Outkast should be suing due lipa

  • @Kamex
    @Kamex 2 роки тому +2144

    When I was studying sound and music tech in college and I had to study copyright infringement cases in music business (already having a bit of background of music theory beforehand) I couldn't help but be furious at watching lawyers grasp at straws to try to manipulate people in the courtroom. This is no different. Thank you for breaking it down in a way that's easily understandable.

    • @mavfan1
      @mavfan1 2 роки тому +46

      no need to manipulate anyone in this case, it's clearly infringement. I trust Rick Beato.

    • @DaveYognaut
      @DaveYognaut 2 роки тому +69

      @@mavfan1 The main point being that it doesn't infringe upon Artikal Sound System's song, which is what the lawsuit is about.

    • @davidmiller9485
      @davidmiller9485 2 роки тому +30

      @@SarcasticTruth77 yeah outcast should sue the bunch of them!

    • @DaveYognaut
      @DaveYognaut 2 роки тому +42

      @@SarcasticTruth77 I'm saying that it doesn't infringe upon the Artikal Sound System song, but it _does_ for the Outkast song. It isn't Outkast that are trying to sue Dua Lipa though.

    • @rmv9194
      @rmv9194 2 роки тому +6

      @@DaveYognaut Why Outkast may I ask. Outkast song is still sonically very different, doesnt have the same instrumentation, doesnt have the same drums, or the same vibe. I invite you to hear the three songs, you will find out Levitating and live your life are always identical, even when both melodies kind of sound like Outkast.

  • @1cecold
    @1cecold Рік тому +12

    As a person whose musical interest is majorly limited at listening level (my messing with some synth app and my daughters darbuka don't count) I really wonder how do you search and find such similar chord progressions from like 20-30 yrs not really popular songs. Do you have a database and robust search tool or is it strictly your crazy ability to memorize every song with every chord progression ever :D

    • @MaizenBlue81
      @MaizenBlue81 Рік тому

      Google

    • @pete5516
      @pete5516 Рік тому +1

      You can just look up the chord progression, for example a song that uses a I-IV-V-IV chord sequence (idk if that’s an actual thing I just used random numerals) I could just look up that exact phrase or the name of the chords like Cmaj-Eminor-Gmaj7-F and if anyone has ever talked about it you’d be able to find it most likely.

    • @brokenwideopen
      @brokenwideopen Рік тому +2

      Here’s an example of Pete’s point en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-V-vi-IV_progression

  • @sebastienmorin1858
    @sebastienmorin1858 Рік тому +19

    Worst thing is, I discovered Artikal Sound System because I love Dua Lipa and there is a lawsuit about it...and I find their music is pretty dope XD
    All that to say, I'll go back to listening some Outkast...

    • @brokenwideopen
      @brokenwideopen Рік тому +2

      If in agreement with Adam’s assessment, some might say that was the intention of their lawsuit all along (exposure/publicity).

    • @haz4dc394
      @haz4dc394 3 місяці тому

      Well, listening to them would be “PROBLEMATIC” as they are a “MOSTLY WHITE” band and profit from “black folk”. Thanks Adam!

  • @mateusbez2669
    @mateusbez2669 2 роки тому +698

    Great take.
    The only thing I still don’t understand is how that generic pop-dance song could be called “Reggae” in any universe.

    • @scarab944
      @scarab944 2 роки тому +72

      True, the song in question is more pop-dance, but some of their other material is more in the reggae style. It's like when people call No Doubt a ska band. Their earlier stuff certainly qualifies, but not the songs they got known for.

    • @progrockmorelikefrogc0ck157
      @progrockmorelikefrogc0ck157 2 роки тому +16

      The same way Machine Gun Kelly is called alt rock

    • @oneconsciousman1942
      @oneconsciousman1942 2 роки тому +30

      Nobody is saying it’s a reggae song . It’s from a reggae band. Two different things

    • @sittinonthegodamcornerdoindope
      @sittinonthegodamcornerdoindope 2 роки тому +3

      This is about the songs sounding nearly identical. Nothing to do with the genres.

    • @orlock20
      @orlock20 2 роки тому +1

      Look at where Amazon shoves certain artists. Amazon has though Micheal Jackson, the king of pop, was a blues artist for instance.

  • @farlonmuentes6004
    @farlonmuentes6004 2 роки тому +1152

    people seem to forget that there are literally millions and millions of song around the world. this arrangement and beat could've been used way before to a non english song.

    • @niknitro8751
      @niknitro8751 2 роки тому +31

      If you make a song with a 12 bar verse 12 bar chorus and a 16 bar bridge using only plain major, minor, diminished and augumented chords and only but not neccessarily changing on the 1 of each bar
      (12*4)¹² * (12*4)¹² * (12*4)¹⁶ = 1.7768447*10⁶⁷ combinations of chords.
      Thats without accounting for rhythm or melody just the chords alone.
      Thats about the number of stars in the observable universe multiplied with itself 3 times.
      That means to write all those songs you, me and everyone else alive today would have to write 2.2210558*10⁵⁷ songs .
      At a rate of 1 song a minute that would take us only 3.0571639*10⁴¹ times longer than the current age of the universe.

    • @bitchface235
      @bitchface235 2 роки тому +6

      @@niknitro8751 this is the answer we need for the assholes that act like there aren't enough musical notes.

    • @farlonmuentes6004
      @farlonmuentes6004 2 роки тому +8

      @@niknitro8751 idk how that correlates to my comment?

    • @niknitro8751
      @niknitro8751 2 роки тому +24

      @@farlonmuentes6004 it relates in the sense, that yes there are a lot of songs and yes therefore it could be that you use the same chords or melodies as someone else before you. However if one makes a new song that starts with a minor chord then the minor dominant chord followed by the minor subdominant chord and essentially slaps a lazily syncopated 2 note melody that alternates between the 4th and 5th of the root note onto it, one should not act all to surprised, that someone already did that. Also this first someone who did that propably lived some 3000 years ago as thats pretty much the most basic thing you can do.
      You not gonna accidentaly stumble into writing a Song like Chega de Saudade or Fugue No1000 by Bach.
      In short Corporate Entertainment Industry can make millions of whatever shit they wanna sell, because their talent is selling not neccesarily creativity, but then at least make millions of some interesting stuff with creative ideas instead of raping my ears with the same 4 chords when i go to the supermarket.

    • @xAsianish
      @xAsianish 2 роки тому +65

      @@niknitro8751 Feel like this heavily assumes all chords are used equally likely and that all chords are equally likely to follow one another, which is not the case at all, especially in the genre of pop music. Really should watch the video to see the biases that play into songwriting. There's an infinite ways of writing an equation that equals 2, but you hardly see it in the form of .72 + .12832343 + ... + extra numbers = 2. It's usually just 1 + 1 = 2. Pure statistics/probability doesn't mean much without context.

  • @JohnSmith-oe5kx
    @JohnSmith-oe5kx 7 місяців тому

    Excellent video. Thanks for your insight and expertise!

  • @foxdundee
    @foxdundee Рік тому

    Loved this video ... great effort I can only imagine ... I learned so much

  • @misterbigglesworth6320
    @misterbigglesworth6320 2 роки тому +3661

    can you imagine if EDM artists were suing each other for their bassdrops sounding too similiar?
    It would be absolute madness. All music we make builds off of the past, and even barring that, let's not pretend like the themes and melodies for the hook are not absurdly simplistic. Literally any musician could come up with that... and seeing as there are hundreds of thousands of musicians in the world... it is crazy NOT to think that this is bound to happen.
    Artikal sound system has basically no fanbase on a large scale and are essentially nobodies. That's not to flame them, it's fine, but to think that anyone of status heard their music, let alone copied it, is beyond delusional.

    • @BalaLedzep
      @BalaLedzep 2 роки тому +3

      Ha Ha 😂😂😂😂

    • @indy5280
      @indy5280 2 роки тому +52

      This also could have been an attention grab

    • @cheesuscheese2001
      @cheesuscheese2001 2 роки тому +33

      avicci comes back to sue marshmello

    • @RandomGuyCDN
      @RandomGuyCDN 2 роки тому +26

      TBH EDM has been taking old songs from the like 50-60's and remixing them for years when you look at the early times.

    • @GoodCharacterBoy
      @GoodCharacterBoy 2 роки тому +23

      Hello have you ever heard of the word underrated?
      "Beyond delusional"? There are people who are into underrated songs rather than the trending ones
      And trust me singers hear more songs - Overrated, underrated than the normal people
      Cause its der feking CAREER!....
      And who knows der might be also other artists including both overrated and underrated copying underrated songs knowingly with the thought "Not a large amount of people will find out" or "We won't get sued for dis".....

  • @augustaseptemberova5664
    @augustaseptemberova5664 2 роки тому +766

    Question for all the songwriters here: when you make a song olr melody, how do you know you're not repeating something you've heard before?
    Like, when I was young and decided, I wanna write a song (before knowing how to play any instrument lol), I picked up a guitar and made a very simple melody. Proudly, I played it to my brother ... and then he showed me that I'd copied the main menu melody from the first Tomb Raider game. I'd never even played the game, but I must've picked up that melody somehow, and I had no clue I was copying it.
    Does that happen to proper musicians too? Or do real musicians have some kind of musical memory and this type of unintentional copying doesn't happen?

    • @bushmaster7810
      @bushmaster7810 2 роки тому +275

      it’s a crapshoot straight up

    • @vleaky3430
      @vleaky3430 2 роки тому +106

      Sometimes when it's too similar you simply change things up. But in general, if you turn music into a formula you're bound to get repetitive stuff that has been done before shich is what pop music is. It's formulaic and not very creative. Personally idgaf about the lawsuit. Popstars deserve it. Just here to get another musician's take on it.

    • @janicetribbiani7535
      @janicetribbiani7535 2 роки тому +157

      Same with any artistic or creative endeavor. We’re all influenced by what has come before, subconsciously or otherwise.

    • @AnymMusic
      @AnymMusic 2 роки тому +137

      you don't. and even if you do, there's SO many songs out there that use other people's melodies, chords, arrangements, etc. Music has been quite a derivative artform for centuries

    • @David-nw2un
      @David-nw2un 2 роки тому +124

      we just pray

  • @2Guys1ControllerShow
    @2Guys1ControllerShow 9 місяців тому +6

    What an absolute Banger of a video. You literally broke it down to where any lawyer could understand it. Great job.

  • @Clara-uo9lj
    @Clara-uo9lj 10 місяців тому

    Thank you for digging deeper into things. Usually ot works this way: fans are gonna support, haters will use the opportunity to hate. Settled

  • @wallyxl647
    @wallyxl647 2 роки тому +1912

    If I were them, I'd drop the lawsuit, make a mashup on their live shows and release an actual hit. They have like 2 weeks TOPS of people's attention, otherwise they are gonna fade into obscurity with nothing but a countersuit lol

    • @SayAhh
      @SayAhh 2 роки тому +4

      RHCP incorporating LDWMJ into Danny California

    • @haunter4708
      @haunter4708 2 роки тому +2

      @@SayAhh LDWMJ?

    • @velenvskaelhas
      @velenvskaelhas 2 роки тому +44

      Well then you'd probably be making a huge mistake, think of the residuals on the levitate song.

    • @darknid158
      @darknid158 2 роки тому +3

      @@haunter4708 Tom petty has a song that uses the a very similar chord progression to Dani California but there’s 1 difference between the two songs, the 4th chord in the chorus is minor for RHCP, it’s major for Tom Petty

    • @IAmValefree
      @IAmValefree 2 роки тому +4

      @@haunter4708 Last dance with Mary Jane

  • @KebunH
    @KebunH 2 роки тому +1243

    Could be subconscious plagiarism, I know from experience sometimes when you come up with a song you just have it in your head and don’t actually know if it’s from an existing song or something that came up to you. Usually when that happens and you work it out it wont end up completely the same though

    • @sws212
      @sws212 2 роки тому +84

      Yeah but still not their plagiarism, the influence is clear if she stated Outkast was the inspiration for the songs before anything was released. The guys suing are much less well known to even be heard of and even then, this is just an open door for them to get sued by Outkast when they win. They have no rights to claim anything from those chords.

    • @Just1Bum
      @Just1Bum 2 роки тому +11

      @@sws212 Subconscious or not, intentional or not, plagiarism is plagiarism. I don't believe she did this intentionally. A team of writers created this song. Maybe someone from the team did it intentionally or unintentionally. Doesn't matter. If someone creates something first and then someone else comes along years later and "creates" the same thing, they have to pay up.

    • @JulesPorta
      @JulesPorta 2 роки тому +70

      @@Just1Bum that’s just shit honestly, why pay up when they don’t deserve it, it’s clear that the inspiration came from outkast, even have the evidence from making the song showing so. that reggae band is just out for clout, the lawsuit went out to public at the exact time they were putting out an album. why now? after two years of dua’s successful album has been out.

    • @derekward3512
      @derekward3512 2 роки тому +32

      It’s not. The band who claims she plagiarized them are clout seekers who updated their song on SoundCloud. The whole thing is fabricated/

    • @t3ss33
      @t3ss33 2 роки тому +18

      also, with millions of musicians, the vast but limited amount of harmonic sequences and the human brain inclined to sensical imprecision, it is likely that two songs that are "basically the same" were written independently.

  • @miketkong2
    @miketkong2 Місяць тому +1

    I used to try really hard to create only original beats and melodies and whatever. Now, I just try to follow the feeling and be as true to that as possible with the belief that we're all just tapping into the same thing anyway. So it's not so much about being original as tapping into that Original Source as purely and deeply as possible. Do that and nothing else matters. Anyway, great video as usual!

  • @effmltalks
    @effmltalks Рік тому

    THIS VIDEO IS AMAZING YAAAAAS. Totally what I'm interested in!! I'm soaking in this knowledge!!

  • @crimfan
    @crimfan 2 роки тому +896

    The entire point of Future Nostalgia was, well, nostalgia. It drew on electro disco and dance music going all the way back to the 1970s and earlier. This meant lots of quotes of overall feel, explicitly, throughout the entire album.
    But I think this kind of suit is often some opportunistic scavenging, and this one certainly looks that way.

    • @johnmichaelb1
      @johnmichaelb1 2 роки тому +79

      REALLY oppotunistic considering Dua Lipa herself said OutKast was an inspiration for the album

    • @JayBigDadyCy
      @JayBigDadyCy 2 роки тому +27

      @@johnmichaelb1 you don't honestly think she writes this stuff all by herself do you? Sure she has a part, but she's more like the face of a product. There's 3 other people that wrote it with her. She can say whatever she wants about inspiration, but it's not really her say at the end of the day. That's how these major labels work. I like her as a person and she's an OK singer, but she's not a songwriter.

    • @nicholaspaat7302
      @nicholaspaat7302 2 роки тому +79

      @@JayBigDadyCy The entire process of making the album is well documented though. There is very little area for them to be found guilty of songwritten plagiarism when not a single producer, writer, Dua herself, etc. that went out of their way to copy elements of Artikal's music. The melody, words, chorus, all of them simply just come off as common language and theme that anyone can come up with independent of others

    • @deadfisher0000
      @deadfisher0000 2 роки тому +20

      On the one hand I think this chord progression and melody is generic enough that this shouldn't be a case.
      But you can't just say "oh the album is called future nostalgia, it's all about ripping things off" like that would make it ok. The artistic vision for the album is kind of irrelevant from a copyright standpoint.

    • @youtubestyle293
      @youtubestyle293 2 роки тому +1

      Madonna made an entire album like this openly plagiarized abba, ace of base etc Am I wrong?

  • @dsproductions19
    @dsproductions19 2 роки тому +1611

    Just for the record, you do not need to be a lawyer to argue points like this in court. Expert Witnesses can be anyone with more knowledge in the subject than the average person, and are the only ones allowed to give opinions, and I think Adam Neely would qualify.
    I wish the defense in cases like this would bring in people like Adam as expert witnesses, honestly. Because every case that ends not in the defense's favor sets a precedent for future cases to do the same, and strengthens copyright restrictions on music.

    • @donatellapetitti5888
      @donatellapetitti5888 2 роки тому +45

      This is true! As a law student we often talk about the issues with expert witnesses and how reliable they are. There are a bunch of academic articles as well that question the use of expert witnesses in music plagiarism and copyright cases. There’s a famous case with John Lennon (if I’m not mistaken) where the judge made their decision on the “feeling” of the song. This area of law is super interesting, although I don’t see myself practising it in the future, it does change the way I think about the production of music and intellectual property

    • @Str20ng
      @Str20ng 2 роки тому +13

      I see what you did there….. “Just for the record…” he-he 😆😆

    • @seraphini1248
      @seraphini1248 Рік тому +4

      No he wouldn't. Either way it was a musicologist who testified Katy Perry did steal dark horse, and that melody was more emptier than this one, so no. You're wrong.

    • @jonah.donohue
      @jonah.donohue Рік тому +1

      Obviously

    • @jonah.donohue
      @jonah.donohue Рік тому +15

      @@seraphini1248 no u

  • @itsworkinprogress
    @itsworkinprogress 2 місяці тому

    Good explanation and learned something about song-writing too - you have my abo!

  • @danielreiser2051
    @danielreiser2051 5 місяців тому

    Thanks for coming to the point(s) without talking and talking for hours. I Like that style

  • @bgosl
    @bgosl 2 роки тому +953

    This is a really good analysis. It's extremely easy to go "hey, A totally plagiarized B! here, listen to the two together, they're basically the same" - which ignores all other context. I'd love to see one of the artists in "The 4 chord song" try to sue every other artist that came after them and made a four-chord song with the same progression. Also "they sound the same" is an extremely vague concept, which can mean anything from "literal sampling of everything" to "a background melody is kinda similar but everything else isn't". Good job for highlighting both of these issues!

    • @esthersmith3056
      @esthersmith3056 2 роки тому +17

      "they sound the same" can be an extremely vague turn of phrase, but it's not in this particular case. the context argument is the one to go with here, the similarities really cant be ignored lol; it's very specifically the context (that none of these choruses bring any creative twists to the most basic building blocks of their genre) that makes it non-plagiaristic.

    • @MusicTheoryAndTheFretboard
      @MusicTheoryAndTheFretboard 2 роки тому +27

      Rick Beato seems to WANT things to be true due to his disdain for today's music. Rick's analysis was so lazy in comparison to Adam's. Bravo Adam.

    • @idontwant2beasoldiermama241
      @idontwant2beasoldiermama241 2 роки тому +22

      You missed the point of the video my dude, they do sound virtually the same, but the chord progression is nothing unique, the strumming is a common standard, and the vocal melody was actually inspired by other artist, basically, it's all a coincidence

    • @whatsup7535
      @whatsup7535 2 роки тому +11

      @@idontwant2beasoldiermama241 We may as well sue anyone that tries making a 70's beat.

    • @olartio2185
      @olartio2185 2 роки тому +2

      They sound the same in this case isn't vague at all. They sound exactly the same . Stop dk riding

  • @louisrost
    @louisrost 2 роки тому +1033

    Great analysis, totally refreshing to hear a compelling and valid argument for this kinda stuff :)

    • @gongonick
      @gongonick 2 роки тому +14

      As opposed to adding ammunition to beato's endless new music bad videos, I agree.

    • @JankyTrader57
      @JankyTrader57 2 роки тому

      That's Neely for you!

    • @MarcoPolux
      @MarcoPolux 2 роки тому +3

      Exactly my thought. This one really put Neely over my Master Beato.... the main premise is that there is almos always a previous.... and I agree with that, having only 12 tones to play with and only so many ways to make them interact....

    • @lt_johnmcclane
      @lt_johnmcclane 2 роки тому +6

      @@MarcoPolux the fact you have to place the two into some sort of competition is telling. It’s totally acceptable to watch both of them and appreciating them separately

    • @MarcoPolux
      @MarcoPolux 2 роки тому +2

      @@lt_johnmcclane you're right, I've been in a combative mode through all this pandemia..... But I didn't like Rick's analysis because he went to sueperficial and why give this 2017 band the ownership of this rythm and progression? it didn't convinced me.... Now, watching this video, Neely's deeper analysis rapidly produced another more accurate response with that example from the Outcast's song..... so there, it was like an eureka moment to an analysis I didn't liked about my respected music guru, Maestro Beato 👍

  • @djpopcorn
    @djpopcorn Рік тому

    Thank you for your work. 👍

  • @BrianBaileyedtech
    @BrianBaileyedtech 8 місяців тому

    Wow - this was very interesting and well-done. Excellent!

  • @akashita
    @akashita 2 роки тому +1362

    Music being the kind of derivative art form that it is, it's difficult to ever conclusively prove that any one artist originated a particular style, melody, or lyric. I think the larger question really is: What is the purpose of intellectual property law as it applies to music? How can we protect the hard work put into existing songs without making illegal half the process of music-making? We need more diversity both in culture and professions in this emerging field of legal philosophy to get to a more satisfactory understanding than we currently have.

    • @captainkiwi77
      @captainkiwi77 2 роки тому +71

      I mean at the end of the day copyright doesn’t protect your intellectual property it protects your right to profit off it. So if we simply make it possible to profit off ones music and not simply make 20 cents a month from spotify as a smaller musician, if being a musician was viable, then the copyrights systems function would gradually grind down. How many artists never want their stuff played by anyone else, if people actually thought like that the entire genres of jazz hip hop and rap would never have existed since they’re based on sample, reference, repetition of old material, and generally repurposing old music for new purpose. Truth be told I don’t think the copyright system is helpful, it mostly just hurts smaller creators cause bigger ones like Warner music can sue the ever living fuck out of you with an army of lawyers, while like Adam mentioned, it’s hard to just find a lawyer willing to sue a company like that as a layperson

    • @matthewtanous7905
      @matthewtanous7905 2 роки тому +52

      The entire premise of these copyright claims is essentially that the “plagiarizing” artist somehow cuts into the profits of the “original.”
      Does anyone really believe that if it weren’t for Dua Lipa, everyone would be jamming Artisanal Cheese Balls or whatever?

    • @meltedyakkystick3891
      @meltedyakkystick3891 2 роки тому +9

      ​@@matthewtanous7905 Yeah, choosing a favorite pop artist is like choosing between Coke or Pepsi. They're pretty much the same thing. What distinguishes them is their brand and that's really what they're selling, so why should music be any different?

    • @alar2266
      @alar2266 2 роки тому +3

      @@matthewtanous7905 Performance and writing credits are different things and this is about writing credit.
      In this case the people that are hypothetically cutting into the profits of the original artist would be songwriters credited with the track.

    • @krjeff
      @krjeff 2 роки тому +22

      @@matthewtanous7905 The point is not that it's cutting into profits. The point is that someone should not be able to profit from your labour without compensating you for it. If there were no copyright, artists with more money and better marketing would simply make a bunch of cover songs (because it's easier to copy a song than to write a new one), market them, make a bunch of money, and leave the actual creators of the music with nothing. This would lead to people not bothering to make new music anymore because why would I expend the effort when a) I can be stolen from and b) I could just steal from songs that are already good.

  • @matthewrice7590
    @matthewrice7590 2 роки тому +357

    Man…I’m glad I saw this. I watched Beato’s video on this yesterday and came away thinking it was an open and shut copy-write case with Dua Lipa clearly being guilty. Even as a huge Outkast fan I did not think about Rosa Parks nor did I even consider whether or not the melody and progression in question had been done before prior to the 2017 track. Thanks for the perspective and the reminder to not take everything at face value.

    • @sjeff26
      @sjeff26 2 роки тому +74

      Yep, the case seems a lot weaker once you hear of the Rosa Parks composition, etc.

    • @penttikoivuniemi2146
      @penttikoivuniemi2146 2 роки тому +20

      For real, I was in the exact same boat. I even left a comment on Beato's video saying how the two songs are so similar I find it hard to believe the writers of the Dua Lipa song didn't just take the other one, change a few things here and there, and call it a day.

    • @WS12658
      @WS12658 2 роки тому +15

      Same. I saw a video that just compared Levitating and Live Your Life and thought "well that's pretty much a carbon copy", but yeah, having now seen how widely it's been used, I'd be surprised if OutKast's song was the first that used it...

    • @rmv9194
      @rmv9194 2 роки тому +10

      ​ The Outkast song still has very different drums, instrumentation and vibe tho. Is OK too consider that MAYBE it wasn't plagirized, but you now are going to the other extreme just because Nelly said it. Both songs have almost identical choruses, too many coincidences, not only in the melody and harmony.

    • @matthewrice7590
      @matthewrice7590 2 роки тому +43

      @@rmv9194 I didn’t necessarily go to the other extreme because of this video. I’m mostly saying that after watching this video I came to realize that this is a bit more complex than “chorus sounds same, song must be stolen”. It’s far from the open and shut case I thought it was with all of this extra information in mind. Yes, the drums and “vibes” are different in Rosa Parks but the melody and chord progression are basically identical to both songs in question. So taking into account…
      - the chorus’ chord progression, motif, and melody all existed to a demonstrable degree before both songs in question ever existed
      - the creative foundations of Levitating are well-documented i.e. writing sessions in the studio, ad-libbing of a crude version of the chorus melody during writing, etc
      - Dua Lipa openly stated how she was inspired by Outkast while writing the album; this was far before the lawsuit
      - it’s highly unlikely that the 2017 track was on anyone’s radar; it can’t be listened to on streaming services and no one knows how long the track ever was available to stream, and real evidence that it was ever on a reggae chart doesn’t seem to exist (if there was some official Billboard reference that could be cited here to prove that it was on a major chart for any period of time then I think that would have some impact here; otherwise I just cannot imagine Dua Lipa and her writers ever having heard this song)
      …leads me to the conclusion that it is far more likely that Dua Lipa unintentionally aped the melody from Rosa Parks and not from this 2017 song whose writers likely also unintentionally aped the Rosa Parks melody

  • @bigwheel9468
    @bigwheel9468 Рік тому

    So what exactly is copyright in music if rhythms and chord progressions can just be reused, can a case only be made if everything is taken? Or at least like a good 90 percent of the content? Can there be such a thing as a musical patent? Im confused.

  • @cdot.8492
    @cdot.8492 Рік тому +6

    Every time I hear Levitating it instantly reminds me of Rosa Parks by Outkast and Cake by the ocean. I knew it. 😊

    • @7nviie
      @7nviie Рік тому

      love love love outkast. music legends 💕

  • @os4b4
    @os4b4 2 роки тому +522

    also, the 2017 version's claim is suspicious because you can't find it anywhere except on soundcloud, where you can change the sound of a song while keeping the date anyway. I think I saw that on soundcloud

    • @P4ulsc
      @P4ulsc 2 роки тому +136

      yes, and even more suspicious is that the song and that album used to be on spotify, itunes and apple music. You can still find links of the songs to those platforms, but they deleted them from every platform before the lawsuit lol

    • @bizarrekimten
      @bizarrekimten 2 роки тому +60

      Yes!! On soundcloud you can *edit* your song where you can literally change your entire song, and of course, the date stays the same. This is a bad scheme to attempt to fish dua lipa of her money, they’re going to lose.

    • @BringBackStoning
      @BringBackStoning 2 роки тому

      Interesting

    • @riddiculedridlersgirlfrien5671
      @riddiculedridlersgirlfrien5671 2 роки тому

      Ahh!! I thought I was the only one wondering if this was the case!!!

    • @RaheezieYasha
      @RaheezieYasha 2 роки тому +1

      They better keep revision records at least in their own damn records (Soundcloud), otherwise that is absolutely stupid

  • @simethigsomethingidfk
    @simethigsomethingidfk 2 роки тому +506

    Imagine if we had copyright claims like this in every kind of art. Like you draw a oil painting portrait of a girl and get sued by every artist who ever touched a paint brush for clearly ripping off their style. You make a sitcom and get sued by every single other sitcom in existence for clearly ripping off the same story beats and characters. Its just dumb and kinda shows how legally insane music companies have went in recent years

    • @radhikapatil1986
      @radhikapatil1986 2 роки тому +28

      But when songs sound so similar to common person who doesn't understand anything about music theory it's easier to make a case.

    • @ebbandfloatzel
      @ebbandfloatzel 2 роки тому +5

      @@radhikapatil1986 I would consider myself a common person with minimal understanding of music theory... I even just listen to a lot of Japanese and game music. But it was immediately apparent that this was a gross misuse of genre tropes. If you EVER work on anything creative in your life, you gradually understand that the fundamentals lay the groundwork for you way more times than not. Even Melody and rhythm, the most expressive part of music, still have to somewhat work with the progression and beat.
      But pop music? Yeah, throw all that expressive stuff out of the window. Now you have new rules that further restrict your creativity: it has to be easy to remember, typically simple for that reason, and catchy. Should probably be a song about romance or sex, sometimes but only optionally behind a metaphor, too. You're going to find similar pop songs, the same way you're going to find similar landscapes. There's only so many ways you can draw the Ocean, but there sure is a lot of it to draw.

    • @radhikapatil1986
      @radhikapatil1986 2 роки тому +1

      @@ebbandfloatzel hmmmm i guess. But clearly they both drew "inspiration" from the original song published in the 90s. And there's difference between inspiration and blatant copying.. anyways i love Dua's song.. it's catchy.. i wish her success in coming years.

    • @yourmothersfavourite
      @yourmothersfavourite 2 роки тому +3

      No, because art is much less theoretical and calculable, you cannot have "notes" in art, and "style" is again subjective, while frequencies, tempos, melodies, rhythms, etc. are not. Also, for that oil painting thing to be true, you'd have to be making money off the painting. And the original would have to be sufficiently "original" itself and you'd have to be very similar to it.

  • @roaminglama5685
    @roaminglama5685 Рік тому +2

    Oh shit…what an analysis!!! Mind blowing.

  • @justinrichardson6577
    @justinrichardson6577 4 місяці тому

    Thanks for explaining this so well.

  • @candideggplant1575
    @candideggplant1575 Рік тому +862

    Songs that are meant to get people dancing probably are going to have "all night" "feel alright" "live life" "all the time"
    Something that encapsulates a good feeling forever, not "I hate the world" "I'm so sad my heart could burst" and "everything is wrong in the world"

    • @fajaradi1223
      @fajaradi1223 Рік тому +65

      Yep, just like most of country music talking about boots, beers, trucks, ranches, and many other typical things.

    • @sarahjeannexd
      @sarahjeannexd Рік тому

      unless you're Bo Burnham and you can pull off "a big ol muthafuckin duffle bag of shit"

    • @noesunyoutuber7680
      @noesunyoutuber7680 Рік тому +10

      Well now, someone's clearly never listened to Post-Punk.

    • @katzea.a7880
      @katzea.a7880 Рік тому +17

      @@noesunyoutuber7680 speaking about post-punk, sad angsty lyrics are part of the experience across the genre just like happy sounding ones tend to be attributed for pop

    • @simenqi4596
      @simenqi4596 Рік тому +3

      @@fajaradi1223 Ram Ranch

  • @kaysha
    @kaysha 2 роки тому +635

    60k songs per day. Of course there's gonna be similarities. But these lawsuits are baseless

    • @Bussterr
      @Bussterr 2 роки тому +13

      All versions of the song were uploaded in the last month except SoundCloud which allows for changing audio files

    • @Allagi22
      @Allagi22 2 роки тому +17

      Wtf are you talking about? It's very clearly plagiarized.

    • @gymather3097
      @gymather3097 2 роки тому +7

      You know that they is almost a never ending amount of music variations you can make, statistics and probability helps understand this

    • @kaysha
      @kaysha 2 роки тому +24

      @@Allagi22 What the video till the end instead of coming here with your emotive comments.

    • @reuben4721
      @reuben4721 2 роки тому +4

      they are SO similar though. i guess it's just a very rare coincidence ig

  • @housebandthexenos2569
    @housebandthexenos2569 Рік тому +6

    Even if Artikal loses they win from the publicity. This is a scary proposition because other artists will see this happen and is actually bad for artists. Any song that gets even slightly big will probably need to be accompanied by a legal team to protect them from this. There's only 7 notes in a scale! Unfortunately at this point melodic copyright is obsolete. There's even a group that used AI to generate 10s of thousands of melodies and copyrighted them all for just this purpose.

    • @davidfletcher2812
      @davidfletcher2812 Рік тому +1

      The amount of money they'll throw at this court case could probably have bought them a similar amount of publicity...

  • @brianhillier7052
    @brianhillier7052 Рік тому +1

    your very smart well done video. my first thought was inspiration not copyright. so many melodies and sounds that are at their base the same. you can only do a combination so many times,

    • @kingklaus2115
      @kingklaus2115 Рік тому

      Honestly I think it may have just been a huge coincidence. And like you said, you can only do one combination so many times

    • @kingklaus2115
      @kingklaus2115 Рік тому

      Honestly I think it may have just been a huge coincidence. And like you said, you can only do one combination so many times

  • @Forjugadname
    @Forjugadname 2 роки тому +562

    This stuff is going to happen more often and often as time goes on. They might as well just get around to saying no more new music is allowed to be made as all the possible sounds have been made and copyrighted.

    • @Traumglanz
      @Traumglanz 2 роки тому +5

      Takes only 25, 50, 75, 95, whatever years disney says it takes … till everything becomes free again. It's just a short period in time, when you look at the big picture.

    • @oliviastratton2169
      @oliviastratton2169 2 роки тому +10

      @@Traumglanz Yeah, I think just shortening copyright length back to 50 or 75 years again would help things a lot. If music up to the 50s or 70s was public domain, that would give artists a lot more creative freedom.

    • @kikipeterson7886
      @kikipeterson7886 2 роки тому +7

      The way people are trying to justify copying songs because artists today aren't original at all lmao

    • @hithere4289
      @hithere4289 2 роки тому +6

      @@kikipeterson7886 how about you come up with something original and pleasing that doesn’t get close to any song pattern created in history. I can wait

    • @kikipeterson7886
      @kikipeterson7886 2 роки тому

      @@hithere4289 I hope dua lipa is paying you well

  • @kwadwothestan
    @kwadwothestan 2 роки тому +281

    I just had a feeling that the similarity was more chord progression and rhythm based than an actual explicit melody copy. You explained it wonderfully.

  • @creepycraiyons3519
    @creepycraiyons3519 Рік тому +2

    From what I understand from my songwriting days is that one change makes it unique. Period.

  • @tayy_ramirez
    @tayy_ramirez Рік тому +1

    he lays out a very deep look into what we overlook, i have never heard live your life so i wouldn’t have even began to think, oh she plagiarized. But for example:
    Marilyn Manson - ‘sweet dreams’ and ScurtDae - ‘Back to life (Birthdae)’
    When i hear Back to life i think it is sweet dreams initially in my playlist they sound similar. so it’s easy to mix up intros from another song that sounds so similar.
    ~ and DNCE - ‘cake by the ocean’ came out in 2015 ‘live your life’ came out in 2017 sooo🤷🏽‍♀️

  • @yari139
    @yari139 2 роки тому +188

    Dua Lipa’s whole album samples songs from the 70s all the way through the 90s. So yeah her songs sound similar to a lot of songs. And honestly, that reggae band’s song sounds like a cover from a 70s song that I can’t quite put my finger on.

    • @bubbly.pancakes4512
      @bubbly.pancakes4512 2 роки тому +1

      Wiggle and Giggle All Night?

    • @hyperspaceexplorer5594
      @hyperspaceexplorer5594 2 роки тому

      "samples" song mean copying with minimal changes. Just too close including lyrics though. Dunno if Dua Lipa's fans will feel the same on defending her if the roles were reversed; an "unknown" music band got inspired by oldies music and the band got sued by big artists.

    • @roberttallafer2299
      @roberttallafer2299 2 роки тому +7

      @@hyperspaceexplorer5594 Normally it will never happen in reverse because there is nothing to be gained in suing an unknown group. If they become somewhat popular then maybe or if the song is very obviously plagiarised.

    • @Miguel-ly4bm
      @Miguel-ly4bm 2 роки тому

      He forgot to mention Miguel Bose

    • @wadespencer3623
      @wadespencer3623 2 роки тому +2

      @@hyperspaceexplorer5594 "Dunno if Dua Lipa's fans will feel the same on defending her if the roles were reversed; an "unknown" music band got inspired by oldies music and the band got sued by big artists."
      I wouldn't defend her in that case. This toxic shit is bad no matter who's doing it. I hate Dark Horse and Blurred Lines, doesn't mean that the lawsuits against them had any merit.

  • @anidiot9831
    @anidiot9831 2 роки тому +588

    I saw someone mention that you can completely replace audio files on Soundcloud without it changing the date shown, so the fact that the only other recordings are from after Levitating kinda makes this whole thing even fishier.

    • @BrunoniTube
      @BrunoniTube 2 роки тому +3

      really?

    • @anidiot9831
      @anidiot9831 2 роки тому +71

      @@BrunoniTube Yeah. Kind of a stupid feature, if you ask me, but I can't stop SoundCloud from being dumb.

    • @BrunoniTube
      @BrunoniTube 2 роки тому +18

      @@anidiot9831 that's against so many security practices.... especially in this business

    • @chodeoriki4113
      @chodeoriki4113 2 роки тому +3

      Wait…. What? That’s completely cracked wtaf.

    • @NotQuiteFirst
      @NotQuiteFirst 2 роки тому +77

      It would be such a crazy twist if it turned out that A.S.S. were trying to pull a fast one by ripping off Levitating and then replacing the Soundcloud file and trying to gaslight the music industry to make some quick settlement bucks - but then they get found out, countersued by Dua Lipa for them stealing _her_ song, and A.S.S. end up having to argue it's just a common chord progression and ryhthm

  • @59TimesAndy
    @59TimesAndy Рік тому

    Great video ❤. Can you do one on The Rolling Stones lawsuit against The Verve?

  • @Haze1434
    @Haze1434 Рік тому +7

    I've literally only gotten 30 seconds in to your video and I went and listened to both songs. I'm also a completely neutral party, never heard Dua Lipa before in my life before today.
    I'd say pure coincidence. Whilst the chorus is similar, the rest of the tracks are not, at all. Also, those progression of chords are pretty intuitive/easily duplicated by separate artists. I don't think she copied her, this lawsuit won't (or at least shouldn't) be successful.

  • @codygarland6365
    @codygarland6365 2 роки тому +163

    you have a scary ability to completely change my mind about things like this in under ten minutes. you should definitely try and offer yourself up as a expert in court cases like this

    • @peterpike
      @peterpike 2 роки тому +7

      While I would agree he's an expert, a court might not. You have to establish certain credentials to be considered an expert. I'm not familiar with what those would be in musicology, so he might already meet that standard, but it's also possible they would require him to have specific doctorates, etc. This is legitimately to help protect defendants so that random people can't just claim to be experts and b.s. their way through something by using linguistic skills to fake it.

    • @dangelobenjamin
      @dangelobenjamin 2 роки тому +11

      @@peterpike Adam could be awarded an honorary doctorate if he did something groundbreaking. Musicology is one of those fields where amateurs and historians/record keepers can contribute just as much as professionals. It's not a hard science like physics.

    • @milanforever7014
      @milanforever7014 Рік тому

      he would lose ahahahahahahahahahahahah

  • @sean6721
    @sean6721 2 роки тому +84

    dude you did a great job of convincing me at the beginning it was stolen and then FLIPPED me SO FAST. Nice work dude. Very well thought out and concise.

  • @Jocelyn_Paige
    @Jocelyn_Paige 7 місяців тому

    Here's the song, Don Diablo:
    ua-cam.com/video/v3N444t7m0A/v-deo.html

  • @fiftyshadesofgrey1991
    @fiftyshadesofgrey1991 Рік тому

    thanks for the video it was really helpfull to remember even though I could find by myself)

  • @taekatanahu635
    @taekatanahu635 2 роки тому +481

    Heck, even I have accidentally copied a song and I'm not a professional musician / songwriter.
    It is rather bizarre feeling though. I once wrote a riff - which to be honest wasn't even any good - just to hear a song with the exactly same riff playing on my father's Spotify playlist half a year later.

    • @cesar6447
      @cesar6447 2 роки тому +3

      It's exact that you are not professional musician that it's normal that you're music sound like other, but someon with experience and studies should not

    • @connorwelch6265
      @connorwelch6265 2 роки тому +29

      I used to fiddle around with electronic music and had written a fun little dubstep track but never finished it and had forgotten about it. Until I heard a larger artist come out with something that had a section that sounded EXACTLY like what I had done. I even pulled out the old project and played the comparison for a friend and he was shocked at the similarity.

    • @NotQuiteFirst
      @NotQuiteFirst 2 роки тому +14

      I spent about 15 years thinking that I had come up with a great guitar riff (me an amateur strummer) until I was watching a Rick Beato video one day and he casually played the same riff and mentioned it as _Them Bones_ by Alice In Chains 🤣😂😅

    • @taekatanahu635
      @taekatanahu635 2 роки тому +12

      ​@@cesar6447 What I mean by a professional is a person who creates and plays music for their living. I have been playing guitar for 15 years and in terms of playing I'm certainly qualified enough to be a professional, but I have absolutely no interest to pursue music as a career. I have professional musicians in my family, but I personally like guitar playing more as a hobby.
      The point was that those who get their living from music probably spend more time creating stuff than I do, therefore increasing the likelihood to write something similar than someone else has already created.

    • @taekatanahu635
      @taekatanahu635 2 роки тому +2

      ​@Closettismial It certainly felt rather bizarre. 😄
      Not only because we both had come up with the exact same musical idea, but because I thought it was awfully boring and threw it almost immediately into a trash bin, figuratively speaking, whereas the other person apparently thought it was good enough to write an entire song around it.
      That is probably the weirdest form of flattery I have ever experienced, although of course in the end what is "good" and "bad" is entirely subjective what comes to music. But maybe it made me contemplate my life choices just a little haha.

  • @AlexMiller-sd5vk
    @AlexMiller-sd5vk 2 роки тому +316

    I am going to show this video to my wife! I told her levitating sounded JUST like Cake by the ocean, but I couldn't put into words exactly how.

    • @Koszika
      @Koszika 2 роки тому +29

      Such a cool thing to read, thinking of your wife, wanting to share with her an opinion, and even stating it in a youtube comment 💜

    • @tahahagar7664
      @tahahagar7664 2 роки тому +11

      @@Koszika lol yeah very wholesome and cute 🥰🥺

    • @arthuredens
      @arthuredens 2 роки тому +2

      The end of Cake has the chorus to Levitating

  • @AsiaOdin
    @AsiaOdin 2 місяці тому +1

    You're saying
    Charleston rythm has been done before
    Specific chord progression done before
    5-4-4-4 melody done before
    night/light, "all night" hitting the same notes done before?
    Bm has of course been done before
    You mention Jackson 5 and others using one or the other from the above.
    The key is all of them are used at once!
    Inspiration is when you get the rythm from somewhere, the tune from else where, so on with the lyrics and you right it in the key that fits you most.
    Now I'm curious what keys does Dua Lipa frequently use and has she used Bm in any of her songs before?

  • @mikey1836
    @mikey1836 Місяць тому

    So glad UA-cam recommended this video. This is such an high priority topic.

  • @nvrmltice
    @nvrmltice 2 роки тому +512

    I love musical similarities, I think they add some fun when you discover a similar melody, progression etc. Even three of my favorite artists ever (Demetori, Ishiwatari, Kai Hansen) have a LOT of copied riffs in their songs and nobody says anything. It seems to me that this one is a case of pop artists wanting more money

    • @yoda9256
      @yoda9256 2 роки тому +15

      or because one song become stupidly popular and another band essentially created the song…

    • @PaulAllen6304
      @PaulAllen6304 2 роки тому +3

      "If you wanna runaway with me...."
      This part I suspect has been plagiarised from "Simarik" by the lengendary Turkish singer, Tarkan. Please do listen to it. The similarity is UNCANNY.

    • @silent_simulator9590
      @silent_simulator9590 2 роки тому +13

      Are u nuts? "Similarities"? Lmao...yeah..why should not someone steal your ideas, make millions out of it and you stay as poor as you always were. Sounds completely logical to you, right?

    • @nvrmltice
      @nvrmltice 2 роки тому +1

      @@silent_simulator9590 have fun trying to be more famous than poor Judas Priest copying their riffs like all of the ones I mentioned did

    • @silent_simulator9590
      @silent_simulator9590 2 роки тому +5

      @@nvrmltice you really didnt get the point....poor you...

  • @adamdumas
    @adamdumas 2 роки тому +75

    If I ever get sued for ripping off another song, I’m calling Adam Neely to the stand 😂

    • @milanforever7014
      @milanforever7014 Рік тому

      and you'll lose ahahahahahahahahaah cause dude has no point sorry

  • @DavidOwensuk
    @DavidOwensuk 11 місяців тому

    Love your analysis…😊

  • @larajhilton
    @larajhilton 7 місяців тому

    This is fascinating- I’ve just shared it with my eighteen year old son. He’s studying maths/loves music. He’ll find this interesting. Thank you.

  • @michaelcorbett4236
    @michaelcorbett4236 2 роки тому +261

    Dua's demo recordings seal the deal really. She is reacting to a tune and organically adding a melody from her own experience rather than having a list of tunes and saying "okay I'll pick that one". Now you can come close the bone sometimes but like you say there are so many phrases and tropes it really comes down to thin slicing these days.

    • @seraphini1248
      @seraphini1248 2 роки тому +2

      That was an obvious or stunt. Jesus, you're gonna ask if that's Kim Kardashian's real boobs and butt.

    • @joeurbin7235
      @joeurbin7235 Рік тому +8

      That don't prove Jack. U don't know that was da first time they got 2gether n wut they listened 2

    • @HarrDarr
      @HarrDarr Рік тому +3

      @@joeurbin7235 no, but it would be an incredibly bad look if these were presented in court and it turns out these people falsified evidence and perjuried themselves.

  • @m.f.3347
    @m.f.3347 2 роки тому +334

    The problem isn't "do these songs sound similar", it's "did the accused explicitly rip off the accuser's work?", which is much harder to demonstrate. Even Led Zeppelin managed to beat Stairway to Heaven's plagiarism accusation, despite it being basically proven that they had already heard the song they allegedly ripped off (the band Spirit had toured with them).

    • @who_what
      @who_what 2 роки тому +12

      I agree with Adam here, but I'm pretty interested in what the bar is for someone to rightfully enforce their copyright. It seems like anything short of literally the exact same melody, and chord progression, (and similar tempo + timbre) does not cross that threshold.

    • @fredblogs3308
      @fredblogs3308 2 роки тому +35

      It isn't just "much harder" to demonstrate. It's completely impossible. Plagiarism, short of a literal unauthorised cover version, will always be in the ear of the beholder. Despite what musicologists angling for a paycheque for a court appearance might like us to believe, it is simply not something that can be scientifically proven. It is an entirely subjective assessment that each juror ot presiding judge will make. Coincidence and plagiarism, unfortunately for both the songwriters who get ripped-off and the ones who get falsely accused of ripping-off, are ultimately indistinguishable from each other.

    • @doooofus
      @doooofus 2 роки тому +10

      Abolish Copyright (and more importantly, Abolish Patents)

    • @baseballfan4877
      @baseballfan4877 2 роки тому +3

      yeah that sounds like the hardest case for any copyright claim. I feel like you would need a sound recording of a person saying "yeah we copied that song" to have any case.

    • @jaimeduncan6167
      @jaimeduncan6167 2 роки тому +3

      Yes, but the result is not surprising, its common for the powerful to abuse the weak and get away with it.

  • @thetravelinlights
    @thetravelinlights Рік тому

    In "We're Good" is the Guitarlick from INXS "Need You Tonight"

  • @Juststartingout768
    @Juststartingout768 11 місяців тому

    This is a fantastic analysis.

  • @guitarsimon1
    @guitarsimon1 2 роки тому +313

    It’s almost as if we’re bumping up against the limitations of a music system that’s been around in various forms for hundreds of years now.

    • @farhad_v25
      @farhad_v25 2 роки тому +32

      Yes! I think it’s funny when amateur music learners hear common chord progressions and think they’re copied. Like congrats you discovered the IV-V-I 😂 but seriously, there will be a time where it will be extremely difficult to create completely original music, I think jacob collier is one of the last few people truly determined to create brand new things. There’s only so far we can go with 11 different notes on a piano so we gotta get used to hearing the same things once in a while

    • @bobf5360
      @bobf5360 2 роки тому +20

      well regardless, it is indeed rich when a WHITE REGGAE BAND from South Florida wants to sue for copyright infringement. Literally EVERYTHING they are as a musical entity is infringement of someone else's work.

    • @godspeedhero3671
      @godspeedhero3671 2 роки тому +8

      Nah, it's just a case that modern pop music isn't ABOUT being original so much as tapping into what's cool at the time.

    • @methatis3013
      @methatis3013 2 роки тому

      @@farhad_v25 well guess what, those 11 notes are basically as much as you can differentiate

    • @methatis3013
      @methatis3013 2 роки тому +11

      People have been able to come up with new musical ideas for hundreds of years, it's not a problem with the system

  • @mixbustv
    @mixbustv 2 роки тому +415

    Just talked about this too and came to the same conclusions. Since the very first moment I heard about the lawsuit I was "no way, such common.. everything 😄" . Good video man 👍

    • @nicholaspaat7302
      @nicholaspaat7302 2 роки тому +23

      @@qwertyfff You need help lmao

    • @Volkain10
      @Volkain10 2 роки тому +8

      @@qwertyfff which songwriter worked with the band suing? just trying to piece everything together.

    • @brendonwood7595
      @brendonwood7595 2 роки тому +6

      @@Volkain10 none. Hes lying or been lied to. And it makes no difference anyway.

    • @ziegev5864
      @ziegev5864 2 роки тому +2

      @@qwertyfff source?

    • @alrecks619
      @alrecks619 2 роки тому

      hey it's the "make-it-loud without sounding like A$$" guy.

  • @teertaa
    @teertaa Рік тому +1

    Wait so its nearly new year. Any idea about the results of the lawsuit?

  • @dontlistentoanythingisay
    @dontlistentoanythingisay Місяць тому +1

    When you said “OutKast’s 1988 song Rosa Parks” I had to rewind it to make sure I heard that right lol.

  • @newguy5761
    @newguy5761 2 роки тому +238

    Love the part of all 3 bands harmonizing in the same key together HAHAHA

  • @deathberry74
    @deathberry74 2 роки тому +222

    So whenever I hear Levitating, the melody always creeps towards another song that I can never remember. But I just did: it’s Staying Alive by the BeeGees! The chorus/pre-chorus bit. So yeah, more examples of how it’s not exactly the most unique sounding melody I guess.

    • @larissabrglum3856
      @larissabrglum3856 2 роки тому +21

      Both melodies are based on a simple minor-key downward scale and are set over a disco beat, so they do end up sounding somewhat similar.

    • @godspeedhero3671
      @godspeedhero3671 2 роки тому +29

      Yeah, there were quite a few songs that came to mind when I first heard Levitating like Cake by the Ocean and some old disco songs, but Levitating is so refreshing that I honestly didn't mind the reiteration.

    • @adanactnomew7085
      @adanactnomew7085 2 роки тому

      Yeah its true

    • @deathberry74
      @deathberry74 2 роки тому +2

      @@godspeedhero3671 it's true though, it's so catchy that it stayed in my head for ages even without me ever hearing the full song

    • @finnlabel
      @finnlabel 2 роки тому +3

      Stayin’ Alive was the first melody that came to my mind from both Levitating and Kiss Kiss

  • @pietrocastro96
    @pietrocastro96 Рік тому

    Hey Adam!! Have you seen this?
    Coldplay - My Universe sounds a lot like One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful.
    Perhaps you can show us that both songs sound like a much older music, but would be fun to hear it from you.
    Cheers!

  • @nysaballsings
    @nysaballsings Рік тому

    Great analysis 👍