5 Absurd Music Legal Moments
"Send lawyers, guns, and money; Shit has hit the fan" - Warren Zevon
If you enjoy this article, please consider sharing or subscribing to Check This Out!
Soundgarden has been back in the news the last few weeks for one of rock’s classic cliches: lawsuits.
Singer Chris Cornell passed away unexpectedly in 2017, and his widow, Vicky Cornell, is suing the remaining band members after she claims she was offered less than $300,000 to buy out Cornell’s share of the band. The two parties have been in a constant legal battle for a few years, including the band countersuing her for misusing funds from Cornell’s foundation that was supposed to a medical research charity. The suit also claimed she has taken over all of Soundgarden’s social media and is posting as the band.
Soundgarden replied to Vicky Cornell’s lawsuit through a forensic accountant and business manager who claimed the band had offered her much more than her lawsuit states multiple times and that “this dispute has never been about money for the band. This is their life’s work and their legacy.”
Selling song publishing rights has a long history, with Michael Jackson buying most of The Beatles catalog being the most notable. Still, the trend has picked up in the last year after Stevie Nicks and Bob Dylan sold their song catalogs within days of each other. Understandably, Kim Thayil, Ben Shepard, and Matt Cameron want to cash in on this trend, seeing that they are all involved in other projects, and I don’t see them going the Alice in Chains route with a new singer (or Audioslave for that matter).
A lawsuit follows every great hit, so let’s take a look at some genuinely ridiculous music moments in court.
Britney Spears Conservatorship
The New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears has made this case the current most significant music lawsuit, and you should watch it now (after reading this article, of course).
Following her famous encounter with the paparazzi in 2007, she was given a new manager, Sam Lufti, a leech who reminds me of Eugene Landy, who made Brian Wilson’s life a living hell. Her father, Jamie Spears, used this opportunity to place Britney under a conservatorship, controlling all aspects of her business and life.
Since her Vegas residency's mysterious cancellation in 2019, Spears has been in court with her father. She’s had a recent victory with the court ruling Bessemer Trust taking over as co-conspirator with Jamie Spears. The lawsuit is ongoing.
It’s only absurd because the story is so tragic.
John Fogerty is sued for sounding like… John Fogerty
Creedance Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty released “Old Man Down the Road” in 1985 on Warner Bros. Records. CCR’s former label, Fantasy, thought this sounded too much like “Run Through the Jungle,” the hit he released with CCR in 1970. The jury was in favor of Fogerty, rejecting Fantasy’s claim on infringement. This case eventually made it to the US Supreme Court.
It’s hilarious that Fantasy claimed “Old Man” was just “Jungle” with different lyrics, considering every Fogerty song sounds the same. Also, have you wondered why CCR is in every damn Vietnam movie? Thank Fantasy Records.
PMRC and the “Satanic Panic”
Suburban moms have had it out for metal since the early 70s and Black Sabbath.
In the mid-80s, the Parental Music Resource Center (PMRC) was formed, with members including future second lady, Tipper Gore, to legislate government labels of albums they deemed “offensive.” In 1985, congress called Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider (I wish these three formed the world’s weirdest supergroup) to testify about their offensive content.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had already met with 19 labels who had agreed to adopt the parental advisory label, so the hearing was mostly for a show for congress. The three made congress look like buffoons when Frank Zappa testified in defense of free expression and that the free market could dictate taste (what does this say about the current situation with Morgan Wallen? Yikes.).
John Denver spoke of all the harassment he had received over some good ol’ fresh mountain air in “Rocky Mountain High.” But it was Snider of Twisted Sister who eloquently took congress to town during a speech, co-written with his tour manager. It’s a must-watch music moment.
Congress ruled that the music industry should regulate itself, and parental advisory stickers were born. Metal and hip-hop sales took off after the label screamed: “BUY ME!”.
Joe Satriani vs. Coldplay
In 2008, “coffeehouse U2”, aka Coldplay, was sued by “guy showing off at Guitar Center” Joe Satriani over their single “Viva La Vida.” Satriani claimed it was ripped from his 2004 song “If I Could Fly,” but the courts tossed the lawsuit.
There has been a long history of copyright lawsuits, and they are increasingly ruining the music industry. Sometimes the lift is obvious, but “Viva La Vida” a standard chord progression, and had Coldplay heard this song from the Surfing With the Alien guitarist?
I pose this question because I’ve never seen Satriani outside of the Guitar World magazines I had in the 90s.
Metallica Takes Down Napster
No list of dumb music lawsuits is complete without Metallica suing the former streaming trailblazer, Napster.
In 2000, Metallica wrote a track called “I Disappear” for the prestigious art-house film Mission Impossible II. Before it had been mixed or released, the song was showing up on radio stations. After the leak was traced back to Napster, Metallica sued Napster for a minimum of $10 million, at a rate of $100,000 per song someone illegally downloaded.
Metallica won the lawsuit, and other artists followed, killing that form of Napster (Napster now pays the most per play for streaming services). Over 20 years later, the music industry is still struggling to adapt to streaming. Metallica lost a ton of fans, became an early meme, and is still paying for it today.
Last week, while playing a Livestream for BlizzCon, the video streaming service Twitch played royalty-free music over their performance to avoid a potential lawsuit and a nod back to the Napster days.
The list of music lawsuits is endless. Is there one on your list that cracks you up? Post it in the comments!
Some of these music court fights would make for good movie documentaries!