Coldplay has fired back at guitarist Joe Satriani’s lawsuit that substantial parts of their hit “Viva La Vida” were lifted from his 2004 song “If I Could Fly.” They predictably say that there’s no merit to the suit and that any similarities are coincidental. Satriani is requesting monetary compensation and a jury trial for what he claims is blatant theft. His lawyer says that the response is not consistent with the way Coldplay’s side behaved before the suit was filed. He says that they tried to speak with them before they were forced to resort to legal measures:
“With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations,” read the statement. “If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him. Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write the song ‘Viva La Vida.’ We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours.”
Satriani, 52, wants a federal judge to order an accounting so he can determine how much money he may be owed, or else stop using the song.
In response to Coldplay’s statement, Satriani’s lawyer, Howard E. King, said Coldplay’s public reaction was dramatically different from how the guitarist’s claims were treated before the lawsuit was filed.
“We attempted to have a dialogue on this before we went public,” King said. “We felt almost forced to file suit.”
“As far as the ‘coincidence,’ ultimately that’s for a jury to decide,” he added.
King said it’s common for musicians to be influenced by other works and incorporate it into their own, sometimes a little too closely. But he said that the reaction is usually different when the similarities are pointed out.
“It doesn’t mean you don’t owe something to the original composer,” he said.
[From AP via Huffington Post]
If you listen to the user-created comparison above in which the two songs are overlaid on each other there are way too many similarities for coincidence. It’s possible that a musician accidentally recreated the Satriani song, never realizing that they were copying a song they’d already heard. It does sound like more than chance that two musicians could come up with such similar results independently. Unless Coldplay offers Satriani a settlement I don’t see this lawsuit going away anytime soon.
Joe Satriani is shown performing in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 7/26/08. Coldplay is shown performing in Sheffield, England on 11/29/08. Credit: WENN
