Cyndi Lauper Sued Over KINKY BOOTS Song

[zainmax]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 5:23pm

I'm not really seeing the similarity. Three notes?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2019/04/04/kinky-boots-to-keep-on-kicking-in-court/#3ae9d0d84021

But, bad timing with the closing on 4/7.

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 5:43pm

They didn't file the lawsuit a week before the show closes, a reporter is just using the closing to rehash and provide an update on the case...

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 5:47pm

Name that tune in ...

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 5:48pm

I'm not really seeing the similarity. Three notes?

No, it's a bit more than that.

At 0:47
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwFwUvjgd_c

At 0:53
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9URZgAqeqo

[geoffreyC]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 6:32pm

Omg did they really think nobody would notice?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 6:59pm

geoffreyC said: "Omg did they really think nobody would notice?"

I mean it did take 5 full years for someone to

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/4/19 at 8:33pm

I’d settle.

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 1:02am

Call_me_jorge said: "geoffreyC said: "Omg did they really think nobody would notice?"

I mean it did take 5 full years for someone to"

It will take lawyers far less time to find a ton of other songs that use the same chord progression and melody. Unless there is sampling, it's kind of crazy to think someone lifted your music. You can just hear them do something you identify as your own without thinking that you also didn't invent the wheel ...

[magictodo123]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 5:36am

haterobics said: "Call_me_jorge said: "geoffreyC said: "Omg did they really think nobody would notice?"

I mean it did take 5 full years for someone to"

It will take lawyers far less time to find a ton of other songs that use the same chord progression and melody. Unless there is sampling, it's kind of crazy to think someone lifted your music. You can just hear them do something you identify as your own without thinking that you also didn't invent the wheel ..."

 

^^^seconded. Wow. I can’t believe this is even a thing happening. 

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 6:06am

It's not the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last.  I suppose if they truly feel they were ripped off, I don't blame them -- but it's not like there is an infinite number of notes to use in the world.

[kofler22]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 8:24am

And it´s not the only song on that score! The music for the dance break in the song What a woman wants is almost identical to a Brazilian tune called Tristeza. 

https://youtu.be/gQFKCM63IUo

 

[romain2]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 9:00am

Read recently that Benny Mardones has been ill and needs financial help. I feel bad for the guy. But it might explain the lawsuit. https://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/2018/12/benny_mardones_hospital_medical_costs.htmlAs for the songs. Yeah, they are similar but for only for a brief moment. Lauper’s song goes in a different direction very quickly. What bothers me is the part of the lawsuit that says the song should never be performed again. That seems to be going over the top. I mean a judge rules Lauper needs to pay up then fine, pay up. But to pull the song completely?

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 11:19am

romain2 said: "What bothers me is the part of the lawsuit that says the song should never be performed again. That seems to be going over the top. I mean a judge rules Lauper needs to pay up then fine, pay up. But to pull the song completely?"

That's pretty much a standard request, in addition to payment of course. Copyright infringement is very difficult to prove, because the burden is on the plaintiff to show that the defendant didn't just happen to come up with the same idea on her own.

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 11:22am

romain2 said: "What bothers me is the part of the lawsuit that says the song should never be performed again. That seems to be going over the top. I mean a judge rules Lauper needs to pay up then fine, pay up. But to pull the song completely?"

That is standard legal practice, though. You add as many charges and conditions as possible, since then you have more to bargain with. "OK, if you agree to A, we'll drop the charge for B" etc.

[zainmax]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 1:51pm

romain2 said: "Read recently that Benny Mardones has been ill and needs financial help. I feel bad for the guy. But it might explain the lawsuit. https://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/2018/12/benny_mardones_hospital_medical_costs.htmlAs for the songs. Yeah, they are similar but for only for a brief moment. Lauper’s song goes in a different direction very quickly. What bothers me is the part of the lawsuit that says the song should never be performed again. That seems to be going over the top. I mean a judge rules Lauper needs to pay up then fine, pay up. But to pull the song completely?"

Wow. Really interesting -- thanks for sharing! I guess that this makes sense now.

[zainmax]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 1:53pm

I'm not a copyright lawyer, but I'm kind of surprised that the "raise you up" part is enough for a lawsuit. Anyway, though, it's strange that Lauper isn't simply settling it to make Benny go away.

[Wick3]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 2:14pm

I barely recognized it when i listened to both songs. In addition, it's just odd how they raised this several years after Kinky Boots went on Broadway. How come people didn't make a fuzz about this back in 2013? I feel people talked about the similarities between Dear Evan Hansen's "You will be Found" and Pitch Perfect 2's "Flashlight" more. 

[romain2]

Posted: 4/5/19 at 7:41pm

Thanks zainmax. Yeah if you go to Benny’s Facebook page there are pleas for financial help because of his many health problems. I feel bad for him and his family.

But I don’t know. This lawsuit is a stretch.

Thanks to Fosse76 and haterobics for your insights.

[Niles Silvers]

Posted: 4/6/19 at 8:56pm

You may need to check your hearing.  The part I listened to sounded like a direct lift.  

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/6/19 at 9:02pm

Niles Silvers said: "You may need to check your hearing. The part I listened to sounded like a direct lift."

Yes, but the larger question is, in the history of music, did this one person in the 1980s come up with this thing that had never been done before? Or does he think he invented it the same way Cyndi probably did, without recognizing that he just heard it as well, only no one came forward to sue him about it before?

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/6/19 at 10:38pm

" Yes, but the larger question is, in the history of music, did this one person in the 1980s come up with this thing that had never been done before? Or does he think he invented it the same way Cyndi probably did, without recognizing that he just heard it as well, only no one came forward to sue him about it before? "

George Harrison was sued and lost about 1.5 million for something called "subconscious plagiarism" years ago when the hit "My Sweet Lord" was similar to "He's So Fine" and I think that sounds like what you were saying.

Updated On: 4/6/19 at 10:38 PM

[bdn223]

Posted: 4/6/19 at 11:14pm

Isn’t the law for copyright infringement of a song state it has to lift more then 8 notes? This is why Schwartz hasn’t been sued by the Arlen estate for directly lifting the first 7 notes of “Over the Rainbow”  for the theme of “Unlimited” which is used throughout Wicked’s score. He’s referenced this on numerous occasions, I’m guessing that might not be the actual law, but this is literally a 3 note riff. Lauper may not want to have to admit it in court, which is why she is refusing to settle, but if Schwartz interpretation of the law is correct, then she will win without having to admit it.

Updated On: 4/6/19 at 11:14 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/6/19 at 11:27pm

yankeefan7 said: "George Harrison was sued and lost about 1.5 million for something called "subconscious plagiarism" years ago when the hit "My Sweet Lord" was similar to "He's So Fine" and I think that sounds like what you were saying."

Harrison admitted in court to being familiar with He's So Fine, though. I think that is slightly different from whether Lauper may have heard this song as background noise at some point, assuming she didn't just write the same thing... I mean, I could technically rip off Post Malone, but right now, I couldn't name a single song of his, never purchased any of his music, but I may have heard it out and about, which isn't the same as knowing and forgetting.