AOTM: Petty Got Plagiarized and Handled It Professionally

Two years ago, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne found themselves in an interesting predicament. A new artist named Sam Smith had released a song titled “Stay with Me”. It became a Grammy-winning hit, however, the song was so similar to the Petty/Lynne composition “I Won’t back Down” that it was addressed in court. Through the entire process, Tom Petty was professional about the incident.

Sam Smith came onto the music scene when he was featured on the breakthrough hit by Disclosure called “Latch” in 2012 and eventually released his first album titled In the Lonely Hour in 2014. One of the singles off his album was very similar to the Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne composition “I Won’t Back Down”. Unaware of the similarity, Smith released “Stay with Me” without worry. It went on to be extremely successful (Grammy awards, certified 7x platinum, and an international hit), however, the company that holds the publishing rights to Petty/Lynne’s song noticed the similarity and brought it to court. Smith stated, “”It was a complete accident…I am 22 years old … I’ve never listened to that song (cbc).” Smith went on to further state that he is still learning the ins and outs of the music business, and this was one of those situations. He expressed his sincere apologies professionally while also taking responsibility for the mistake.

(Sam Smith “Stay with Me” official video courtesy of Sam Smith Vevo & YouTube)

While the similarities between the songs brought the matter to court, Tom Petty was professional through the entire incident. He said on his website, “About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam. All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement. The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it. How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career. Peace and love to all (tompetty.com).” Petty expressed something that is common in music: there are only so many chords and chord progressions. Similarities between songs are bound to happen. The incident was finally settled in court. Petty/Lynne received partial songwriting credit and were granted 12.5 percent royalties.

(Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “I Won’t Back Down” official video courtesy of Tom Petty Vevo & YouTube)

The similarities between “Stay with Me” and “I Won’t Back Down” raised a red flag for Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne’s publishing company, who took the matter to court. Petty later acknowledged that song similarities are common in music and most of the time are caught long before they make it out of the studio. Through the entire process Tom Petty was professional. He understood that Smith did not intend to plagiarize. Sam Smith, likewise, acknowledged he was still learning about the music business and professionally admitted the mistake. Both artists remained collected and peaceful through the entire process.

~Jenna Jakes, WOGB

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