A song.....plagiarism or no? Comments?

[imastawka]

Stumbled across the newer song and it rang sooo many bells for me.

But first,  listen to the 1969 song by Steampunk

Now listen to the chorus of this 2020(?) song by Ben Ransom -

I have nothing against Ben Ransom and I like his music.

[papermoon.lady]

Well, the 1969 song is mentioned here too, and it is obvious he got the tune from that song: Ben Ransom - Brave New World - flyctory.com

I don't know about the legal situation though. I think (in books or poetry at least) a line or two from another author can be used if the new author develops them into a new idea, but I am not sure about music.

A reference would be nice though (out of consideration for the original author or musician).

[papermoon.lady]

For example in art too it is apparently OK to take somebody else's art and transform it into something new. I think it is then called "derivative art".

[imastawka]

Paper, as an example of the music industry, I've lost count of the number of times Ed Sheeran has been taken to court.

There are many examples of artists being sued for even just one line in a song.

How about Robin Thicke and Marvin Gaye's song?

Robin Thicke, Pharrell to Pay $7.2 Million in 'Blurred Lines' Lawsuit - Rolling Stone

[imastawka]

Further - sorry, too late to edit -

[papermoon.lady]

I don't like it either when they steal tunes. I don't remember which song it was, but once I found a song that started with another well-known, very peaceful tune just to go wild after a minute (possibly to surprise the listener).

[twyngwyn]

If he didn't get permission - it's plagiarism 

[not_for_sale2025]

I have seen a number of artists interviewed, including (a rather nervous) John Lennon, who admitted that one approach to writing songs was to take another artist's song and muck around with it. Lennon didn't say too much, commenting that he didn't want to get sued.

For example, commence a similar verse, then run off in a different direction. When completed, go back to the plagiarized verse and tidy it up to conceal what was done. Apparently many song writers do this, but won't admit to it. Clearly, some cover their tracks well and others do not.

[countessalmirena]

That is without question plagiarism, unless Ransom has permission from Steampunk and has paid the appropriate royalties.

This isn't a case of "Oh, it sounds reasonably similar" or "It inspired Ben Ransom's song"; this is straight-out use of the same musical material.