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Similar Lyric?
I used to only sing but now I'm starting to write songs, too.
And I'm wondering, how similar can a lyric be without getting in trouble/sued or criticized?
Like if my song included "never mind I'll find someone like you" but otherwise was completely different to the Adele song - different music... would that be enough to get in trouble?
Surely artists can't own independent phrases right? Just the song as a whole?
How much similarity in lyrics is too much? Sometimes I like one tiny sentence of a song and it inspires me.
Help! Thank you.
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Lyrics & music are what's called 'intellectual property' and are protected by copyright. Stealing a 'substantial amount' of them would be considered an act called 'plagiarism' and you could be prosecuted. Like a photographer passing off somebody elses work as his/her own. There are grey areas. Nobody could copyright 'love' as a subject for a song, obviously. Nicking a phrase or a few words from a favourite song would be difficult to prosecute over. But using well-known phrases from well-known hits isn't likely to do your artistic credibility and integrity much good! People will hear them and think 'Oh...corny...she nicked that from Adele!' And so on. See what I mean? I think this example, even with different music is not lawsuit-provoking but too close to avoid criticism. You'd probably be better using words and music for inspiration, and finding your own twist. What's Adele saying here?She's accepted that her perfect guy won't be hers, right? Would you be accepting...or would you fight it a bit more? Good luck with the songwriting.
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