Satch sues Coldplay!!!

[Sifu Ben]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7766683.stm
When I first read this I thought they were taking the p*ss, but now I've listened to them back to back I think he may have something.....

[Groove Cartel]

And so he should.... I picked this up when I first heard the track.

Shame they can't also be sued for the release of lifeless, dull, middle class cr@p.....

[headtheball]

Surely, though, Coldplay can sue Athlete, Snow Patrol, and so on, ad nauseum, to get the money to pay Satch?

[Crazy_Joe]

As much as i think Coldplay suck, it sounds like a coincidence more than a direct rip off of Joe's song.

At the end of the day, both are very simple chord progs and anyone could make them, it's not like they actually took a guitar riff.

[Sifu Ben]

Ahh, but what's interesting here is not about chord progressions and riffs, it's about the similarity of the melodic guitar line of one and the vocal melody of the other.
 I think proving exposure could be tricky though, unless there's a magazine article somewhere where they say that they really like Satriani (pretty unlikely)

[Crazy_Joe]

I can't see Satch getting anything. But I see the similarity.

[sgmypod]

Ahh re read

[sgmypod]

You tube comparisonhttp://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofFw9DKu_I&feature=related

[Jonny]

Awesome.

[Crazy_Joe]

You tube comparisonhttp://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofFw9DKu_I&feature=related

Haha, listening to that i think he has more of a case now. I still don't think he will get anything though. He is saying he is seeking damages and "any and all profits". That's not going to happen.

[Jonny]

Damage by plagarism. But still.. however it's worded I still think he has a chance.

[Antag]

Stupid move by Satch IMO.  Nothing good will come of it - it will be a PR disaster & he'll gain no money (in fact he'll probably make a net loss after lawyers fees etc)

[Johnny Mac]

If it is a coincidence its a bit freaky or perhaps Joe wants a go on the singers missus, I would.

[mecca777]

I'm certain I read an interview with Satriani many years back where he talked about the plethora of TV commercials and soundtrack work that sounded curiously reminiscent of some of his famous tracks; his (paraphrased) attitude was that it was galling, but that there was no really sensible way of pursuing people who did it because it's unreasonable to expect the legal profession to pick up on the subtleties that are obvious to musicians. Nice to see he's becoming more litigious as the years roll on and the follicles evaporate. :)

I suspect he's on a hiding to nothing with this one. I do seem to remember Oasis getting hammered with some sort of plagiarism case back in the days when they were relevant, but I think there was a lyrical similarity to the source (Stevie Wonder?) as well. And of course the Rubinoos recently had a crack at Avril Lavigne*, but they were doomed from the start because "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" is a carbon-copy of "Get Off My Cloud" anyway.

* bonus points if you could read that sentence without interjecting "I JUST BET THEY DID" in a seedy voice

[WezV]

who knows if its a coincidence or not... but is it also coincidence that coldplay where nominated for 7 grammys yesterday!!  No fuss about this when it came out and i cant believe that neither satch or any or his people were aware of it so why wait till now to bring it up???

At the end of the day its about PR and thats all.

it seems strange to me that you would copy a song so closely... if i was purposely copying something i would at least change enough to avoid legal problems.  That makes me think it must be coincidence

btw, i am no coldplay fan, lets make that clear