Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

I was wondering how everyone on the site deals with the following scenario;

You create a song with your band, rehearse it, take it to the studio, record and master it. Time and money have been spent. And everyone is excited about the new song.

Then someone says, "Hey, that sounds like (insert a song title here), that I heard by a band called (insert name of a band here)"

To what degree do you go about changing the song, or do you just run with it, and just chalk it up to "genre specific influences" or "roots based riffs" or "screw 'em, let them sue us."

It can't be helped, everyone "borrows" from everyone else. I have done it both consciously and subconciously; our song "FTW" is a based on a Van Halen riff in "I'm On Fire". I didn't do it on purpose, it just happened. On "A Few Bad Men" I was purposely doing a send-up of Kid Rock. A song has to be "substantially" like an existing song for copyright infringement to occur, and unless you've made a lot of money from it no one is going to sue. So I say just go with it.

Yeah, I've run into this more than once. Sometimes I'll add a few sweeteners into the mix to make it more unique, sometimes I just let it slide, & one time I altered instrumentation & signature licks to make more it my own. There really is no reason to sound like someone else, &, unless your piece is a tribute or something, you should strive to make it unique to you, if it's at all possible, imho.

The introduction of a single instrument, or an altering of an existing one, is usually all it takes for me to get ppl's minds off of that "other" band.

Scratchy this cant be helped, I mean come on do you really think your gem of a song has never been done before? So many songs sound alike, I would imagine if you really pursued it you could find a copy of everything youve ever written.

I guess the keys is not the chords, its more if you steal a direct hook or melody that is bad.

If your songs sound like another successful band's, you'll get signed... it's been that way for well over a decade now.

I don't believe my songs sound like anyone Else's. Am I wrong?

It's just natural for people to make comparisons from one act to another as a point of reference.

As far as anything we have done sounding like it was " ripped off " as it were.
Don't think that has been an issue.
We have since the get go been more interested in developing " our " sound.

Hayden King wrote:If your songs sound like another successful band's, you'll get signed... it's been that way for well over a decade now.

I don't believe my songs sound like anyone Else's. Am I wrong?

No Hayden. Your style is quite your own IMO.
One of the great advantages you hold.
Also one of the disadvantages in any search for "popularity".

Just refer to it as an original tribute song.

The key words are "substantially like the original." Listen to both. Are the chord progressions nearly the same? Are the signature licks almost identical? Whether you have something that may constitute a copywrite infringement may take the ear of a professional studio tech or attorney specializing in the music business to figure out. So many lawsuits have happened with tunes that on the surface sound nothing like each other but follow the same progression. If you're really concerned I would get the opinion(s) of some professionals. If they are "substantially similar" I would change the song. Do whatever it take to put your mind at ease. You've probably got more important things to think about...