Did Coldplay steal from Joe Satriani? You Decide.

Coldplay Has Been Served...

On Thursday, a copyright infringement lawsuit potentially worth many millions of dollars was filed against Chris Martin and Company by legendary guitarist Joe Satriani.

"Satch" or "Saint Joe," as his fans call him, alleges that parts of Coldplay's mega-popular single "Viva La Vida" (2008) rips off Satriani's 2004 song, "If I Could Fly." The suit could be worth a whole bundle, since the song has sold a ton of copies by both single and album form and was even used in a lucrative Itunes commercial. The Coldplay song was even nominated for a Grammy last week.

Why don't you decide for yourself?
The two songs are below:



Coldplay has been charged with copyright infringement before - they were allegations of creative theft just earlier this year... but this case is a little different and of a much higher profile. Satriani is certainly not an unknown... After listening side by side, I think Satriani may have a point. (If you listen and still can't make it out, watch this video.)



Comments

Anonymous said…
the melody of the one guitar lick does sound exactly like the melody of the coldplay song. even though satriani's song sounds like coldplay's his eighties style music still sucks. IMHO
Anonymous said…
i heard about this on the radio yesterday morning and was totally baffled by just HOW SIMILAR the two songs are. its like - undeniable. but 5 bucks says they don't get busted for it.
Anonymous said…
It may have been coincidence, but I bet they'll settle out of court.

They've been ripping off other artists since they started. I enjoy Coldplay's albums, but they were just a 2nd (or 3rd) wave Radiohead wannabe, if you ask me. :)

~Dan
http://jazzsick.wordpress.com/
Anonymous said…
Listen to both the songs at the same time. Maybe coldplay and Joe Satriani should record a version of this together
Anonymous said…
This is a perfect example of how music as an art form, (at least main stream artists) is becoming a joke. There is no longer an art to it. It is instead treated as a business with competing brands. Joe Satriani kiss my ass get back to music as art. If Coldplay copies you, think of it as a compliment to your arrangement, now you have up the ante and make something better. Coldplay, quit copying Satriani cause it hurts his feelings, also if you are going to copy, knock it out of the park.
Anonymous said…
that satch song is even worse than the coldplay song
Anonymous said…
The Coldplay song boasts writing credits from all members of the group. I imagine the fault belongs to Buckland - a hack of a guitarist who is probably the type to listen to Satriani records for inspiration. Unfortunately, since he probably couldn't play a single phrase from a Satch record, he is content to just copy the melodies. I hope this doesn't reflect poorly on Chris Martin. He's an extraordinary songwriter who probably made the mistake of letting his lessers contribute to the songwriting process.
Nick said…
Coldplay should be forced to open shows for Satriani for a year.
Anonymous said…
No doubt Coldplagiarism happened here. Coldplay’s arrogance will bite them in the ass. Get the shirt!!

http://www.zazzle.com/coldplagiarism_viva_la_fraude_t_shirt-235701356821717844?gl=monkeyclown&rf=238266558925436073
Anonymous said…
coldplay sucks! thats the true!
terrypussypower said…
Joe Satriani is a fantastic guitarist, but I’m not to impressed by his compositions..... but I’d listen to his worst song on repeat for the rest of my life before I’d listen to a second of Coldplay at their “best”. One of my all-time favourite artists is Brian Eno....his albums “Another Green World” and “Before And After Science” are incredible examples of creative musical inspiration. But he has TWO black marks against him...namely U2 and, yup, you guessed it....Coldplay. Two of THE most cringeworthy acts in rock music history.
I mean, U2 are bad enough, but at least their first album is listenable. But Coldplay sucked from the first....and then got worse!

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