What Does Corey Taylor Think About Ed Sheeran’s Copyright Lawsuit?
Pop musician Ed Sheeran was recently in court after being accused of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his song “Thinking Out Loud,” which was released in 2014. Sheeran, Warner Music Group and his music publisher Sony Music Publishing were sued by the heirs of Gaye’s cowriter, Ed Townsend.
Sheeran was found not liable, but the case was closely watched by people in the legal and music worlds. Naturally, someone asked Corey Taylor what his thoughts on the song were. An interviewer from radio station 94.3 The Shark asked Taylor if he’d ever written something that sounded similar to another artist’s song.
“Cryptomnesia. It’s a very real thing. And we just saw it play out in the courts with Ed Sheeran.
“The thing that I love that [Ed] proved is that chord progressions are going to be similar going all the way back, going all the way forward; it’s what you do over the top of them,” he continued. “And that’s one of the reasons why — and a lot of people won’t know this — music cannot be copywritten [sic]. Now, lyrics and melodies can, because that is the stuff that truly changes and shapes, which is one of the reasons why, if you can show that the melody and the phrasing is the same, then you have copyright infringement. But if the music feels similar, there’s nothing you can really do about it, because those chord progressions have been the same for years, going all the way back.”
Taylor said that avoids things that sound too similar but claimed that most people don’t understand what it means to “steal” music.
“I have a very long memory when it comes to that stuff. Obviously, I try to avoid anything that sounds similar anyway. ‘Cause that stuff doesn’t interest me. So I really go above and beyond to really try and make sure that everything I do sounds different, feels different. And if it does start to sound a little too similar, I rein it in and I break it down and restructure it from scratch. I’ve started whole other songs before and just gone right back to the drawing board. ‘Cause I’m, like, I don’t want anyone to come in and say that I stole this [and] I stole that. ‘Cause I’ve gotten in arguments with people before who have tried to tell me that I’ve done it. And I’m, like, ‘You’re an idiot. I’m gonna put these two songs right together. You show me on the doll where these songs are the same. And if not, you kiss my ass, man.’ And it’s very satisfying.”
Corey Taylor “CMF2” U.S. tour dates
w/ WARGASM, OXYMORRONS and LUNA AURA on select dates:
Aug. 25 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium * [Tickets]
Aug. 27 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater * [Tickets]
Aug. 28 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore * [Tickets]
Aug. 30 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave/Eagles Club – Eagles Ballroom * [Tickets]
Aug. 31 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre * [Tickets]
Sep. 2 – Chesterfield, MO – The Factory * [Tickets]
Sep. 3 – Pryor, OK – Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds (Rocklahoma) *** [Tickets]
Sep. 5 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit * [Tickets]
Sep. 7 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues * [Tickets]
Sep. 9 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J Brady Music Center * [Tickets]
Sep. 10 – Alton, VA – Virginia International Raceway (Blue Ridge Rock Festival [Tickets]) ***
Sep. 12 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater * [Tickets]
Sep. 13 – Boston, MA – House of Blues * [Tickets]
Sep. 15 – Wallingford, CT – The Dome at Oakdale ** [Tickets]
Sep. 16 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount ** [Tickets]
Sep. 18 – North Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues ** [Tickets]
Sep. 19 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues ** [Tickets]
Sep. 21 – Huntsville, AL – Mars Music Hall ** [Tickets]
Sep. 22 – Louisville, KY – Kentucky Exposition Center (Louder Than Life) *** [Tickets]
Sep. 24 – Houston, TX – House of Blues ** [Tickets]
Sep. 25 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues ** [Tickets]
Sep. 27 – Albuquerque, NM – Revel ** [Tickets]
Sep. 28 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre ** [Tickets]
Sep. 29 – Henderson, NV – The Dollar Loan Center *** [Tickets]
Oct. 1 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues ** [Tickets]
Oct. 3 – Riverside, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium ** [Tickets]
Oct. 5 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern ** [Tickets]
Oct. 7 – Sacramento, CA – Discovery Park (Aftershock Festival) *** [Tickets]
* w/ WARGASM & OXYMORRONS
** w/ WARGASM & LUNA AURA
*** Festival / Radio show
