Coldplay Settles Joe Satriani Lawsuit

Coldplay Settles Joe Satriani Lawsuit

On 09.16.09, In Artist News, by DeadCanDance

Coldplay and Satriani have settled their legal disputes and the guitarist’s lawsuit alleging copyright infringement has been dismissed.

Last Winter guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, sued Coldplay for ripping off his 2004 track “If I Could Fly” for their own Grammy-nominated hit “Viva La Vida.” According to court documents obtained by Justia News, the lawsuit was dismissed “upon Stipulation” by Judge Dean D. Pregerson, and “each party bears [their] own cost.”

More than likely the two have agreed on some sort financial conclusion to get this train wreck of a case over with. I actually feel bad for Coldplay on this one. It’s just a melody line and similar ideas come close to overlapping all the time. I mean come on, everyone writes in the same keys using the same scales (major, minor, blues) over similar tempos.

It’s doubtful but even if Coldplay does listen to Satriani, anyone who writes music knows that some things can come out on a subconscious level without you having a clue. It’s not usually intentional and a lot of times it may be too late before you realize that it is similar to a song you have listened to before. If anyone should know this, it’s Satriani who seems to be writing the same songs over and over again since “The Extremist“. Then again maybe he doesn’t realize it if it is being done on subconscious level. Oh man we’re getting deep here.

DeadCanDance

Co-founder of Revivl.com and music news junky. Played in quite a few bands over the last decade plus : Codeseven, Telescreen, Red Orchestra Radio, and Azazel. Be sure to follow us at www.twitter.com/revivl

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Name

Hey Coldplay, I'm happy for you and Imma gonna let you finish, BUT SATRIANI HAS THE BEST RIFFS OF ALL TIME.

pollmak

Damm Right. Very few artists in their field can create Master Piece Album where every track is great. Joe's music is so good he does not need to sing.

Bryan

I don't even know who Joe Striani is!

loverofjoesat

to get to know who joe satriani is, listen to his music. he is his music. if it so happened you doin't like his music, then you don't deserve to hear his music either.

Joe Satriani

lol Joe Satriani sucks cock and just had to sue because his music sucks so bad.

Name

Cold play is a joke. Their songs all sound the same and the only reason are still popular is because of musical retardation of this nation. Viva la vida is practically identical to Santorini's song but with different instrumentation. The author of this article clearly has very little musical background.

Anonymous

"If anyone should know this, it’s Satriani who seems to be writing the same songs over and over again since “The Extremist“"

Wow. You're an idiot.

nix9xon

Satriani is ridiculous... It seems to me that he realized that he was falling from fame and saw an opportunity to try and steal some of Coldplay's popularity. Coldplay fan or not, Satriani's ploy seems like a childish playground attempt to salvage a career.

franksantos

These are a bunch of ridiculous excuses, it's a total ripoff of Satriani's song. Sounds like that the author of this blog is a Coldplay fan.

Name

Wow... I really doubt if you have really even listened to any of Joe Satriani's songs. He is a well respected guitarist and yes coldplay did rip the tune from tune. As for coldplay... they should try and come up with their own material than copy others let alone well respected musicians. As for the author of this article... should never be allowed to write articles.

evs

I'm a Satriani fan, and I have no idea if Coldplay intentionally ripped him off. All I do know is this article has a pretty clear bias to it...

revivl

Wow the Satriani brigade has been let loose. Just to make a few things clear, I am a fan of Joe's but disagree with his decision to sue over a melody line. Maybe he's been hanging out with Lars too much. When I say I'm a fan I have seen him twice, bought every record from Surfing to Time Machine (including Dreaming #11), and have the tab book for every single one of those albums.

I spent countless hours studying his solos, as I was once a bedroom solo artist like most of you. Do I like Coldplay? Not so much actually. Believe it or not I can base my judgment on the actual event and not blindly stand behind it because I'm a fan.

As for his releases after Time Machine, they suck. Sorry but just because the dude can improv better than most could write over a period of years doesn't mean he can just stop being innovative and slap together shit and call it a record. It was great the first couple of times I heard it. For you guys writing in that only know him from you tube clips,comeback in ten years and we can talk.

Minifig04

Oh give me a break, Coldplay ganked the tune and you damn well know it. The author of this is a coldplay fanboy and it's true.

nismoGTR

Seriously. Sure, it is usual for some music to sound similar, but not an entire effing song matching note for note. Maybe Coldplay realized that they were a sh*tty band and decided to rip off a bad ass guitarist. I admit, Satriani is out there a little and most of his recent music is getting more and more, predictable, but saying that Coldplay could have done this by accident is preposterous. "Oh, BTW. Did you also know that they are the original composer's of Bethoven's the Fifth even though he was around way before them." Come on. Bunch of whiny bastards that didn't want to admit that they liked the tune and anted to use it for themselves. Otherwise they wouldn't have had to settle out of court.

DossyDomo

Leave the dude alone man hes doin the right thing!

Jess
www.web-privacy.de.tc

ballbag

I don't care for Satriani or Coldplay so no bias here. I listened to the tracks and although the melody is exactly the same, it's an extremely simple melody. It is possible that Coldplay came up with the idea for their song without ever hearing Satriani's. I got my degree in music theory and whether they admit it or not, the guitar nerds defending Satriani know I'm right.

Name

When George Harrison was sued over the similarities between "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine", the judge in the case determined that unconscious plagiarism was still plagiarism nonetheless and Harrison was held liable for it. As far as I know, for better or worse, that's still the law.

Sorry to interject a reasonable comment. We now return you to the spectacle retarded Satriani fans flaming away.

ballbag

well if that's the law then Satriani is due a sh*tload of money, so I don't know why he would agree to settle or the judge would dismiss the case.

mauriceh

This apologetic crap sounds pretty lame:
"anyone who writes music knows that some things can come out on a subconscious level without you having a clue"
Oh, please, give me a freaking break.
The song is so close that the mashup that got so much airplay did not require modifying the tempo, or even the key.
It is THE SAME SONG!

musiclistener

Wow, harsh comments on the writer.. lol. Anyway, I think the writer is just writing his comments and no harm done on that. Everybody must have their own comments and should just write their own blog if they don't like the writer right?
Anyway, I think the writer is right to some level, every musicians must have come across a similar melody to other artists in some level of their composing. But, the problem itself lies in the fact that the album has been released before being noticed.. *D'OH*

Sanchez

If you have any knowledge about music and compare the two songs you'd have heard that this is not a case of coincidence but just a shameless rip-off. This has nothing to do with the question if you're into Satriani or Coldplay. It isn't the first time Martin is accused of copying melodies.

mishabobulator

yes its very common to come up with the same exact riff that lasts this long, and Im guessing the author listens to coldplay and not satriani, making this article a winner

isthiswill

Here are two other songs before the Coldplay song that have the same melody, and the one in spanish is from the same time as, or before satriani's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G57CgtX-BsI&tran... - Enanitos Verdes (song possibly older than Sats)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77UgMJBH80I - the Creaky Boards, the first to threaten to sue...
Not to mention the Cat Stephens song -
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bi...

I got these cause when these stuff was happening some folks I keep up with decided to make a joke out of the hole thing. Maybe they broke Joe off some cash out of humility and respect, maybe it was a rip, but honestly, it's just a catchy and pretty simple riff that apparently is easy to stumble upon but only one Band was able to cash in on, so the cash strapped feel slighted.

elipsesuperstar

Hi. I know for sure, the guy from Enanitos Verdes is a huge Satriani fan..a friend of mine knows the guy from Spain.

pollmak

Any and every Guitarist ,armature or professional, will know of Joe Satriani and will have listened to his music, just like every composer or classical musician has listened to Mozart or Beethoven. The melody of cold play is just to similar to Satriani's. And even if the Musicians in coldplay where not concious enough to know that they have stumbled on the same melody, surely the music studios and engineers would have recognised the melody.
At the end of the Day Money talks and Cold Play walks, but I do hope Joe's profile is raised. Joe really knows how to play Guitar.
They should have settled this with a Cross roads Style AXE BATTLE...lol Cold Play would not stand a chance..!

a

you have no musical knowledge you idiot, Santorini???????? you just read this article and cant spell his name? good one stupid.

Chris

I'd rather have people buy my records than be "best" at guitar.

Name

Wah wah wah Coldplay is a group that is so homogeneous that I always think someone else is singing when I hear one of their songs. Meanwhile Joe "First-Place-Winner-in-The-Make-A-Wish-Foundation-Cancer-Kid-Look-Alike-Contest" Satriani is a guitarist, not a song-writer. That same riff was ripped from countless other tunes and lackluster wannabe musicians will continue to rip off whatever the latest musical popular flavor is.

Endnote, people who claim that Satriani is one of the world's great guitarists need to realize that being able to play pentatonic scales at blazing speed does not a great guitarist make. Someone who can take that kind of talent and make music the connects with society at large is what defines a great guitarist. There are very few and we all could probably name 15 or so that everyone would agree on. Satriani is not even close.

elipsesuperstar

The funniest thing is that probably their producer was the one that included that part..

yourmotherjzkfbhkzxjbfvhkx

Coldplay is amazing. And This Satriani guy really sucks ass. end of point.

Name

I couldnt believe what I was reading in the article above... Everyone writes in the same keys.... Hmmm... No they dont.... Music Theory is available to everyone who wants it....But the fact is most musicians dont know allot about the nuts and bolts....Only a basic understanding, such as Major, Minor, Blues... as mentioned above....

And as for who Joe Satriani is..... Well he is the guitarist that all other guitarist say is the best in the world...He is known for his tone, mastery of the instrument, knowledge of music theory and the use of this theory in composition...

Simply put there is no equal.... And this is acknowledged by his piers...But lets face it he has no interest in writing top 40 pop tunes...And thats one of the things I love about the guy... He writes from the heart...If you like it thats cool... If u dont thats ok to.....

If Cold Play did listen to his tunes and it did spill out as a Cold Play track before they realised... Well theres no Harm in contacting the guy and saying something like... "Sorry champ didnt realise, but will look after you for the use of your tune..."

But that wasnt the case....Was it....

Name

Guys as far as who wrote the melody first... it was clearly Satch...It was also released before Cold Pay..

As far as are there other artists that had a melody simular to satch's before him... Yes...But are they the same melody as satch's... No.... (Not note for note)

Is the cold play melody the same as satch's (I mean note for note, tempo, key...leave nothing to the imagination).... Yes....

Name

Mate...WTF....."Meanwhile Joe "First-Place-Winner-in-The-Make-A-Wish-Foundation-Cancer-Kid-Look-Alike-Contest" Satriani is a guitarist, not a song-writer"

First of all kids going through cancer is tragic enough....idio@...

Second if satch wasnt as good as a song writer as a guitarist... why do Cold Play have his melody imbedded in there track?

neenaP

The person who wrote this is an idiot! The songs are so identical, you really have to be retarded not to hear it.Coldplay never heard of Satriani? Sure. They obviously did since they stole his music.

boom boom pow

Both band are in equal merit, but this seems a little bit biased. There is logical fact behind it, with 3.2 BILLION people in the world, lots of ideas repeat and coincide. So whats the big deal about these two songs? well, listen through your music library and single out the songs that sound the same...chances are that your not going to find many.

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