Lana Del Rey Says Radiohead Is Suing Her For Allegedly Copying Band's 'Creep'
Band's publisher denies the claim
Singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey confirmed that Radiohead claims she copied the band's song "Creep."
Del Rey's confirmation came shortly after a report from The Sun revealed that the English rock band was considering filing a lawsuit against her. At the root of the legal scuffle were the alleged uncanny similarities between Del Rey's "Get Free" song and Radiohead's "Creep" that was released in 1992.
In social media post via Twitter, Del Rey said: "It's true about the lawsuit." Her tweet also somewhat confirmed an earlier statement from The Sun's source that said both camps were trying to resolve the issue before it ultimately ended up in court.
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The singer also mentioned that Radiohead wants 100 percent of "Get Free's" publishing. She said that even though she was certain that "Get Free" was in no way "inspired" by "Creep," she wanted to settle the case by offering the band 40 percent of the previous months.
"But they will only accept 100. Their lawyers have been relentless, so we will deal with it in court," Del Rey added.
As of the moment, the credited writers of "Get Free" are Del Rey, Rick Nowels and Kieron Menzies. They are joined by Dean Reid in the producers' lineup.
However, a spokesperson for Warner/Chappell, Radiohead's publisher, recently denied that the band was suing Del Rey but admitted that the two parties had been in talks since August last year.
In a statement, the spokesperson said: "To set the record straight, no lawsuit has been issued and Radiohead have not said they 'will only accept 100 percent' of the publishing of 'Get Free.'"
Del Rey's camp has yet to comment on the development.
Ironically, some music fans also noticed that Radiohead's "Creep" bore striking sound similarities with The Hollies' 1973 single "The Air That I Breathe" though no lawsuits have been filed.
In a report from the Washington Post, it was pointed out that all three mentioned songs had "almost identical chord progression" and produced with "about the same tempo." However, the publication further explained that what makes all three songs sound very similar is what musicians call the "minor fourth."
The minor fourth is simply defined as a last chord in a song's progression that does not necessarily fit with the earlier chords. And as explained by Songtive's blog post: "[It] adds a melancholic feeling to the phrases' endings."
Reports note that this musical writing technique has been utilized in an array of songs over the years such as in The Beatles' "Blackbird," David Bowie's "Space Oddity," Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and more.
