Cryptomnesia: The unconscious plagiarism affecting the music industry

Only 12 notes are employed, and most pop music is based on similar chord structures. So accusations of plagiarism are commonplace in pop. It happened to George Harrison, who had to sign away two-thirds of the rights to his first big solo hit, My Sweet Lord; apparently it sounded too much like He’s so Fine by the girl band The Chiffons. The Beatles had to admit that he knew that song but was convinced that he had written something original. Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Lana del Rey, Oasis and Coldplay, among many others, have found themselves in similar, though often unresolved, predicaments. Melodies and lyrics are often repeated: Enrique Bunbury, the lead vocalist for Héroes del Silencio, for example, was singled out for 37 songs that were, let’s say, inspired by the writing of others – mostly poets.

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