Madonna Prevails In Another Litigious Plagiarism Lawsuit
Accusing pop stars of plagiarism can make a lot of money for lawyers, and Madonna has been accused (and acquitted) of plagiarism charges for a long time. Madonna’s 1990 mega-hit, “Vogue,” which has been praised for helping to usher in the gay rights movement, became the topic of a lawsuit back in 2012, 22 years after it came out. MTV broke the news.
“Delaware-based company VMG filed a suit Wednesday against the pop star and her onetime label, WB Records, claiming the track samples the 1977 song ‘Love Break.’ ‘Vogue’ was produced by Shep Pettibone, who also worked on remixes of ‘Love Break’ and is named in the suit as well.”
MTV added that the lawsuit claimed the sample was secretly hidden. A lot of people laughed at the lawsuit and today, the Hollywood Reporter reports that Madonna has, once again, been victorious in what many consider a meritless lawsuit.
“On Thursday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals made it easier for musicians to sample small portions of song recordings by giving Madonna and her producer Robert ‘Shep’ Pettibone a victory in a long-running lawsuit over the 1990 hit ‘Vogue,’ ” the trade magazine reported.
The article includes an important quote from 9th Circuit judge Susan Graber.
“After listening to the audio recordings submitted by the parties, we conclude that a reasonable juror could not conclude that an average audience would recognize the appropriation of the horn hit. That common-sense conclusion is borne out by dry analysis. The horn hit is very short—less than a second. The horn hit occurs only a few times in Vogue. Without careful attention, the horn hits are easy to miss. Moreover, the horn hits in Vogue do not sound identical to the horn hits from Love Break.”
There was a time, however, when Madonna was accused of plagiarism and appeared to have lost. This happened in 2005, when a Belgian songwriter claimed Madonna’s 1998 hit, “Frozen,” copied his. Billboard broke the news.
“Songwriter Salvatore Acquaviva’s suit had alleged that Madonna’s 1998 hit from the album Ray of Light plagiarized parts of his song, ‘Ma Vie Fout L’camp (My Life’s Getting Nowhere),’ which had been written five years earlier. ‘The judge has ruled Madonna must withdraw from sales all remaining discs, and orders that TV and radio can no longer play ‘Frozen,’ Acquaviva’s lawyer, Victor-Vincent Dehin, said. No damages were set.”
“The Court of Appeal of Mons said Monday that the famous singer Madonna had not committed plagiarism for her song ‘Frozen,’ ” Stern translated from another report.
Because of this, “Frozen” has been allowed to play in Belgium again. The case did not go any further, although by 2013, it’s quite possible that many music listeners in Belgium forgot about the song “Frozen,” as it then became more associated with a mega-hit Disney movie.
Madonna herself isn’t immune to other people she thinks copied her work. When Lady Gaga released “Born This Way” in 2011, many accused Gaga of basically copying the song note for note. Madonna certainly didn’t deny the comparisons and famously referred to Gaga’s hit as “reductive” in 2012. However, despite the fan wars that ensued, Madonna told Rolling Stone that the event was blown out of proportion and that she was even a fan of Lady Gaga’s.
“The only time I ever criticized Lady Gaga was when I felt like she blatantly ripped off one of my songs. It’s got nothing to do with ‘she’s taking my crown’ or ‘she’s in some space of mine.’ She has her thing. I do think she’s a very talented singer and songwriter. It was just that one issue,” Madonna defiantly said.
The issue of plagiarism is a difficult one. However, you can bet that even if Madonna releases a completely unique-sounding song in the future, there will be someone screaming “plagiarism” in order to garner attention for themselves.
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
