Line #16 Main/SuspiciouslySimilarSong


1	->''"See, their song goes "ding-ding-ding da-da ding-ding/ding-ding-ding da-da ding-ding",\
2	and mine goes "ding-ding-ding da-da ding-ding/'''ding'''-ding-ding-ding da-da ding-ding".\
3	It's totally different."''
4	-->-- '''Music/VanillaIce''', comparing his "Ice Ice Baby" to Music/{{Queen\|Band}}'s "Under Pressure"
5
6	Want to use a popular song for your soundtrack, with or without the original lyrics, but don't have the money to get the rights? You can always get some studio musician to record a suspiciously similar song -- an instrumental version of the tune with a note tweaked here and there, designed to sound as much like the original as possible while being different enough not to violate MediaNotes/{{Copyright}}.
7
8	Strangely enough, this sometimes happens with tunes which are clearly in the PublicDomain in at least some countries. Sometimes for the opposite reasons of public domain soundtrack -- so you could copyright the song.
9
10	A staple of shows that frequently feature parody songs or skits.
11
12	Note that, under United States copyright law at least, it is perfectly legal to use the same exact tune as the original song ''if'' the derivative work is clearly a parody of the original (parodying a work is a protected form of expression; using an original tune to parody something unrelated is fuzzier) -- though this did not become official until it was upheld in a 1994 court ruling, and would obviously not apply to instrumental versions or songs that were instrumental to begin with, hence most of the examples on this page.
13
14	So as to avoid Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike, note that apparent cases of this are often not intentional plagiarism, but accidental replication of a song the artist didn't consciously remember; or (especially for partial matches of just a few notes) the two artists may have simply had the same idea independently. Many cases of this are also simply a result of both songs using a very common chord progression, such as TheFourChordsOfPop or the PachelbelsCanonProgression.
15
16	Contrast with InTheStyleOf where the song is covered, in a style as far from the original as possible. When one song recycles the tune of another, it's ToTheTuneOf. In the music industry, when a snippet of a recording is used in a new song, this is called "{{sampling}}", and usually requires permission... but it ain't always given. Some early {{rap}} and HouseMusic songs had unauthorized samples of {{Disco}} songs. Basically CaptainErsatz or {{expy}} for music pieces. Also contrast MusicalPastiche.
17
18	[[RenamedTropes/QToZ Formerly known]] as the ''Jimmy Hart Version'' after Wrestling/JimmyHart, who, while in WCW, made a lot of these for the wrestlers' themes. Pay attention to that while the potholes named as such are no longer common on this wiki, the ProfessionalWrestling articles may still include a mention of the former Trope Namer, this way or the other.
19
20	Note that if you're just reworking your own theme, that doesn't count since it's ''your own'' copyright you would be violating. And nobody cares about that.
21	----
22	!!Examples
23	[[index]]
24	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/{{Advertising}}
25	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/{{Anime}}
26	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/{{Film}}
27	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/LiveActionTV
28	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/{{Music}}
29	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/ProfessionalWrestling
30	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/VideoGames
31	** SuspiciouslySimilarSong/{{Nintendo}}
32	*** ''SuspiciouslySimilarSong/DonkeyKong''
33	*** ''SuspiciouslySimilarSong/TheLegendOfZelda''
34	*** ''SuspiciouslySimilarSong/{{Pokemon}}''
35	*** ''SuspiciouslySimilarSong/SuperMarioBros''
36	*** ''SuspiciouslySimilarSong/{{Wario}}''
37	** ''SuspiciouslySimilarSong/SonicTheHedgehog''
38	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/WesternAnimation
39	** ''[[SuspiciouslySimilarSong.MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]]''
40	** ''[[SuspiciouslySimilarSong.StrawberryShortcake Strawberry Shortcake]]''
41	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong/OtherMedia
42	[[/index]]

Context Main / SuspiciouslySimilarSong