Avril doesn't have to try ? Why ?

Who is Avril Lavigne? If you ask any Canadian what comes to mind? A punk/rock Canadian image, her straight hair, smokey eye make up, but has anyone ever thought about her plagiarizing scams? YES, plagiarizing scams, she has been doing it again with “her” song “Girlfriend” now.

When I first heard the song “Girlfriend”, I was really impressed, less did I know she stole it from The Rubinoo’s song “I wanna be your boyfriend”, see the similarity already? However Avril Lavigne denies the claim by a member of The Rubinoos. She also says that the songs “girlfriend” and “I wanna be you boyfriend” have no musical similarities. The Songwriters Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer filed a lawsuit against Avril and Dr. Luke in claim for stealing “I wanna be your boyfriend” from the Rubinoos. Is this a catch or did Avril really steal? What do you say? "We are not so naive as to chalk it up to some sort of cosmic coincidence," Dunbar said. "The lyric, the meter, the rhythm - they're identical." [1]. The band lawyer, Nicholas Carlin announced that a settlement has been reached. “Terry McBride insisted he would rather settle the matter out of court as a way of avoiding a costly legal battle” [2] Guilty ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeADpzTQ3hY [3]

There is a video of the two songs. Do you personally think that the song “Girlfriend” was made without ever being aware of the fact that there is a song out there named “I wanna be you boyfriend”? They are both extremely similar in sound and style. Fishy huh ? Avril states, "I had never heard this song in my life and their claim is based on five words," "All songs share similar lyrics and emotions. As humans we speak one language. … Simply put, I have been falsely accused of ripping their song off." [4]

“Girlfriend” is not the only song that has been said to be stolen and released. “I don’t have to try” is another song that has been claimed to be stolen by Peaches, another pop-punk Canadian. Below is the link, watch it and judge for yourself.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2i3ky_peaches-and-avril-lavignes-songs [5]

That’s right Avril doesn’t have to try all she has to do is copy and steal.

After viewing all these video's and taking your opinion about Avril into consideration, what do you think? Did Avril steal or is she just inspired? She did not admit that she stole these songs, and also claims that she never heard the song “I wanna be your boyfriend”, does that mean she is was just inspired and came up with the songs on her own?

Below are some interesting youtube links where Avril has been said to steal:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AK4nxPulDYw

“I don’t have to try” :
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tPKb-8akv0E&feature=related

“Keep Holding On” :
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ymUhCCxDPVk

Avril and Deryck: Couple of copy cats :
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nTSa2mnnYP0&feature=related


Sites Used
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/01/10/avril_lavigne_plagiarism_suit_settled_ou

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00009927.html

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2007/07/07/avril-songwriting-fireback.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/07/10/did-avril-lavigne-bite-a-peaches-track-too/

http://www.hecklerspray.com/now-avril-lavigne-rips-off-peaches/20079151.php

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AK4nxPulDYw

Payola: Mariah Carey and The Music Industry

So have you ever wondered why one specific song keeps playing on the radio over and over again? Sometimes we listen to the radio and wonder how is it possible that this song keeps on hitting the top spots? This is because of the powerful “payola”. The word payola comes from a combination of “pay” and “victrola” record players. So what exactly is payola? Well, payola is the illegal practice of payment by record companies for the broadcasting of songs on radio. Record companies simply give a copy of the record perhaps along with a hundred dollar bill, laptops, digital cameras, ticket to a famous game, walkman, a cruise ticket, and many other expensive pleasures. However record companies were banned from offering valuables to radio stations in 1960. It was U.S federal law that made it a crime with a $10 000 fine and a year in prison. The more times the radio plays a song, the more the audience is going to have to listen to it. The number of times a song is played can influence the popularity of the song. Payola is like food manufacturers paying for shelves in grocery stores.

Mariah Carey’s “Touch my body” was released on Feb.12th on radio and is her 18th chart-topper. It has passed Elvis Presley for the most No.1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and also now is second to the Beatles. She says “I didn’t do this. This is not me. It is the grace of God.” Could it be that “payola” is something to thank as well? An issue to consider is, did Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” make it to the Billboard Hot 100 chart because “payola” was involved? In Elvis’ time they had to SELL the most copies to be on top instead of having the song being played on the radio with the possibility of payola involved. The music industry would do anything just for their record to be on tops and to make money.

An article from Feb.13th 2004 proves that payola is used. It says “…Gave a Jessica trip to WKSE to secure Jessica spins and switch foot.” Jessica also known as Jessica Simpson, for whom SONY laid big bucks to turn her into a star.

Another issue to think about is how Jennifer Lopez’s song “Get Right” did and “I’m real” become such a hit. It is obvious that it was “bought”. The record companies paid radio stations to play the song “get right” and that is how it gained popularity. However it is your opinion.

SONY BGM Music Entertainment was caught engaging in the illegal practices of payola, after a year long investigation by New York state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer. One of the documents they found was a bribe that took place at New York’s WKSE-FM station where the employees got plane tickets to New York, Miami, and Florida in exchange for playing Jennifer Lopez’s “I’m real”. Now think about it, the song you listen to on the radio, are they really being voted for or are they randomly shuffled by radios? Now Sony BMG is ordered to pay $10-million for the use of payola. State attorney General, Eliot Spitzer says “Radio stations are airing music because they are paid to do so in a way that has not been disclosed to the public,” The attorney general says they found evidence such as demanded documents, emails, and other materials from companies such as Warner Music, Universal Music Group and EMI that Sony BMG paid for vacation packages for radio programmers. Sony hired independent promoters to pay radio’s to get more airplay for records.
The $10 million will be distributed to non-profit groups supporting music education.

INTERESTING LINKS:
BIG RADIO SETTLES PAYOLA:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030501286.html

SONY BMG :
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/25/business/25cnd-music.html

SONY SETTLES PAYOLA INVESTIGATION: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2005/jul/jul25a_05.html

Payola-The Dirty Industry Practice-That's Ruining Hip Hop:
http://p099.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=348.topic

LA Music Critic Says Public Not Payola Rules Airwaves:
http://p099.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=359.topic

A Response to Robert Hilburn's LA Times Article on Payola:
http://p099.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm57.showMessage?topicID=364.topic

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

-> Did Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” come on top because of payola?

-> Do you think payola is right of wrong?

-> If you owned a record company, would you pay radio stations to play your songs?

-> Do you think the reason some songs get their popularity is because of payola?