How do you go about proving whether something was copied? Is it ever too close to call?
NYU Stories talked with Ferrara about his rigorous approach to figuring out when, in the eyes of the law, musical imitation amounts to something more sinister than flattery.
MY FUNNY VALENTINE HARMONIC ANALYSIS TRIAL
Over the past twenty-five years, this NYU Steinhardt professor of music has earned a reputation as the go-to expert in high-profile cases of alleged musical theft, whether it’s the Beastie Boys’ use of a lick from a jazz flutist or a ’70s funk band claiming a Whitney Houston hit lifted their opening line.įerrara’s latest star turn came as an expert trial witness for the defense in this year’s lawsuit claiming that Led Zeppelin plagiarized the Spirit song “Taurus” in their iconic work “Stairway to Heaven.” Enlivening his hours of testimony with illustrative musical examples he played on a keyboard in the courtroom, Ferrara both noted substantial differences between the two compositions and, crucially, explained that the similarities between the famous opening riff of “Stairway” and the plaintiff’s “Taurus”-similarities alleged to have been stolen from “Taurus”-had actually been around for centuries, and had also been used in prior 20th-century megahits like the Beatles’ “Michelle.” He even presented the guitar part in a folk song from the public domain, “To Catch a Shad,” that shared those similarities in the familiar opening notes of “Stairway.” Led Zeppelin won the case. Blige, Kanye West, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson-name a famous musician who’s been involved in a copyright dispute, and chances are Lawrence Ferrara has been engaged on their behalf.
Elton John, Lady Gaga, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Katy Perry, Jay Z, Justin Bieber, Madonna, James Brown, Mary J.
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