Now, you might disagree and say "But everyone does it! it's just music!" Let me ask you something: If you had a band and you got an artistically talented friend of yours to design an album cover, would you want someone stealing that design for their own use? A close friend of yours designed that for your band. That would have meaning and sentimental value to you. Secondly, it's not "just music". Music is art, and when someone steals a riff, or a lyric for their own personal gain, without crediting the artist, that's plagiarism. That lyric or that riff most likely had a special meaning for whoever wrote the lyric or the riff. To have that stolen by someone without getting credit, is hard to take.
I understand that it's hard to create original music. A series of chords in one song by someone, may be identical to another song by a completely different artist, but it's 99% unintentional. It's unintentional because most musicians know that stealing something from another band or musician is a stupid-head move. It's not nice, and it stirs up controversy.
Examples of Plagiarism in Songwriting:
- Led Zeppelin was accused of plagiarism in 2014 for Stairway to Heaven. The intro of the song apparently sounds just like the intro Taurus by Spirit.
- Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were accused of plagiarising Blurred Lines after a family realized that it sounded similar to Gaye's Got to Give it Up, which was a huge hit in the 70's.
Examples of Physical plagiarism:
Stealing a band's font, symbol or logo, album cover design or style, are all examples of ways to plagiarize.
Here is Kanye West's Yeezus font. Look how similar it is to the font Thrash Metal band, Metallica' uses. MetalINjection explains here in this link: Metallica vs Yeezus
Another example is Venom vs Thrasher:
Venom was a Thrash, Black and Speed Metal band from the 70's. Thrasher is a skateboarding brand. Even though the two are two different brands and organizations, their logos share similarities. The Devil head in Venom's logo looks like the goat head in the Thrasher logo. I think Thrasher stole Venom's logo because of all the similarities. Venom has been around way longer than Thrasher. I wouldn't be surprised if I was right about this.
In conclusion, plagiarism of any kind is bad, and it's a criminal offense in some countries. Plagiarism in the Art and Music Industries is sad because someone or a group of people just see something they like and simply take it without crediting the artist. "I'm acknowledging the artist!" How about giving the artist credit and asking for permission, before you steal someone else's work? Musicians and artists work hard for their designs and music. They shouldn't have to worry about someone or some company stealing their work for their own personal gain. It's not a nice thing to do. Musicians do steal from other musicians, and that isn't okay either. People need to be creative and come up with their own designs and ideas.
Other Links:
10-musicians-who-make-their-living-ripping-off-other-musicians.php
Kanye West and the Art of Stealing
