Tom Petty’s wallet just got a little thicker. The legendary rocker has officially been awarded royalties from Sam Smith’s mega hit “Stay With Me.” Why? Well, Petty and his people noticed something about Smith’s hit ballad, it sounds almost identical to Tom’s hit “Won’t Back Down.”
Tom Petty Awarded Royalties For Sam Smith’s ‘Stay With Me’
Now, you’re probably thinking something along the lines like “those two songs sound nothing alike,” which is what we at Hollywood News Daily also thought until we heard the evidence. (Check out the video below.)
According to reports, Sam Smith and Tom Petty actually settled the case very amicably back in October, but the details are just now being released.
“When Sam’s track was originally released, it was clear to a lot of musicians that there were notable similarities between the tracks. After it was pointed out to Sam’s camp, they didn’t try to fight it and amicably dished out royalties. It wasn’t a deliberate thing, musicians are just inspired by other artists and Sam and his team were quick to hold up their hand when it was officially flagged,” one source revealed.
‘Stay With Me’ Too Close To ‘Won’t Back Down?’
Meanwhile, Sam Smith’s rep is setting the record straight with an official statement.
“Recently the publishers for the song ‘I Won’t Back Down,’ written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, contacted the publishers for ‘Stay With Me,’ written by Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips, about similarities heard in the melodies of the choruses of the two compositions. Not previously familiar with the 1989 Petty/Lynne song, the writers of ‘Stay With Me’ listened to ‘I Won’t Back Down’ and acknowledged the similarity.
“Although the likeness was a complete coincidence, all involved came to an immediate and amicable agreement in which Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are now credited as co-writers of ‘Stay With Me’ along with Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips.”
Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” was one of the biggest songs of 2014 and sold nearly four million copies worldwide. The ballad has been nominated for Best Pop Performance and Record Of The Year at the 2015 Grammy Awards.
