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You may have heard that Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are being sued over their iconic song “Stairway to Heaven.” The lawsuit suggests that the famous guitar riff that opens the song was stolen from “Spirit” by Taurus, and, more particularly, from Taurus guitarist Randy Wolfe, aka Randy California. The case is scheduled to go to court on May 10, but lawyers for the plantiff say that the case can be settled before it goes to court… and the price is one dollar and a songwriting credit.
Francis Alexander Malofiy is one of the lawyers representing Michael Skidmore, who is the administrator for the trust of the late Randy Wolfe. “It’s always been about credit where credit is due,” he said, although, in truth, it would amount to much more than simply credit for Wolfe. Obviously, one dollar is much less than what Plant and Page could be in for if they end up losing the case (Warner Music Group and John Paul Jones were part of the original suit, but were removed by Judge Gary Klausner). For example, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were initially ordered to pay $7.4 million for infringing upon Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” for “Blurred Lines.” However, the songwriting credit for Wolfe would be potentially lucrative in its own right.
After all, by being credited as one of the songwriters, the estate of Wolfe would be privy to a portion of all the income generated by “Stairway to Heaven.” Considering how ubiquitous that song is, that’s a good amount of cash. Malofiy contends that, in addition to any future income from the song, Wolfe’s estate would receive a portion of $40 million of a $60 million deal that Warner/Chappell Music made with Page and Plant for use of their music. Skidmore says that any financial windfall from the case will go toward the Randy California Project, which gives musical instruments and music lessons to students at low-income schools in Ventura County, California.
Of course, Page and Plant, and their attorneys, are arguing that any similarity between these two songs is due to a longstanding musical structure much too common to be entitled to copyright projection. They have not spoken on this deal, and, for now, the trial is still slated to begin on May 10. If they think they have a chance to win the case, one presumes they will not take this deal, but, for now, it adds another wrinkle to this story.
(Via Bloomberg)
