Have you ever noticed when you are listening to the radio and a song comes on and it sounds familiar? Or a song references another song by using a line out of it and everyone understands the reference. This is nothing new and has been going on for a long time now! Someone finds a beat and years later someone copies that beat or creates something so similar it’s almost hard to tell the difference. People will even purchase the rights to songs and use the chorus in their song in hopes of making it a hit because people recognize it.
Examples of this happening are ones like the time Taylor Swift opened up a performance with a drum-line and people believed that she stole it all from Beyonce’s homecoming intro. Or more recently Jason Derulo has been accused of copying a teenager’s Tik Tok song he uploaded and people started using. Another example would be Shakira’s famous theme song from the 2010 world cup was actually a song already from back in 1986 by the Golden Sound. Do artists believe that these songs that have done well in the past will perform well again because of the intensity patterns and release patterns? Or is it the linguistic cues that they feel will catch people’s attention with their fast, slow, low pitch, or high pitch cues that people enjoy time and time again? What is the reasoning for artists to continue borrowing and stealing old beats and rhythms?
My questions for you are these. Are artists running out of original ideas? Is it ok in your opinion for artists to use old music in their songs now? How do you feel about borrowing, copying and stealing music whether it be lyrics, beats, or melodies?
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckfPMZfWXqU
https://www.distractify.com/p/taylor-swift-stealing
I think it's impossible to come up with anything original in music these days, because there's just so much out there it's impossible to not, whether subconsciously or not, let other influences leak in to your own 'original work'. I definitely don't think it's okay if artists steal other artists music and don't give credit. In one of Taylor Swift's songs "Look What You Made Me Do" from 2017, she actually credited and compensated (handsomely according to the band) the band that influenced the hook in her chorus, Right Said Fred, who wrote the parody song "I'm too sexy for my shirt". So in cases like this where the original artist is compensated and credited I think it's totally fine and a fun way to rework something that was put out previously. If the original isn't credited though and their work is stolen it's definitely not okay.
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