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Soundtracks pieces that seemed like plagiarism or pure coincidence?
- Thread starter R.T Straker
- Start date
Some comments on this matter from our Falk who worked on FFXV's music (from this thread about the whole FFXV/Skyrim thing):
Heh, there is a part that sound very similiar it seems. Didnt notice it ingame though.
I watched Running Man a few nights ago and the main theme sounded really familiar, before it hit me that it must have been an inspiration for the Shinra theme in FFVII. About 1:05 in the top video and 50 seconds or so into the FF7 one.
Christ, that is uncanny. Didn't another DBZ game have a load of plagiarised music or something?
Edit: Apparently it was several games, though the soundtracks of those were done by Kenji Yamamoto who did the soundtrack for Kai too, which also had some plagiarised music.
I was trying to find it, but I'm to lazy, anyway...the short music clip that plays after you complete a tower in Dying Light sounds excatly like part of the White Orchard music from The Witcher 3....
Please, if anything, I believe MGS rip off music from hollywood action films more than some obscure russian classical piece.
As an example, there were alot of similar sounding soundtracks from 90's action movie that MGS took inspiration from such as : Speed, The Rock, Die Hard.
Take a listen at the Speed main theme. This has alot more similarity to MGS than anything else. MGS itself was a product of creative inspiration from Hollywood action movies. I don't see the big issue with this and they should have continued using the MGS theme music.
It's good then that you're just some random guy on the internet forum and no one takes legal advice from you : ) Just because you can't hear the similarity between MGS theme and Svidirov piece doesn't mean it's not there. And since music isn't random, it goes far beyond being just a coincidence. It IS the reason why MGS theme was not used in subsequent games.
Hadn't seen this one before, but there's definitely a nod there. That's pretty cool.
LMAO, they carbon copied my favorite transformers track. They didn't even change anything.
Yeah, they have similarities but its always dumb when people call it a rip off imo
Apparently they did, as the Hellfire track had to be changed before release.
Either they thought nobody would notice all the other music that very clearly appropriates the TES melody, or they knew they could get away with it regardless.
One of the main motifs in the FFXV soundtrack is the Elder Scrolls melody (composed in 2000).
You can argue about the circumstance, but you can't deny that it's there.
There's a track in Dragon Ball Z 3 for the Super Famicom that is exactly the same as the Tyrano Lair theme from Chrono Trigger.
This is absolutely bonkers. I gotta show this to my friends.
Stratovarious isnt exactly "big" in Finland, but I would say most people recognize hunting high and low, either the original or Sonata Arctica's cover.
The thing about this is that Kenji Yamamoto was legitimately accused of plagiarism. It's why the soundtracks of Budokai 1 and 3 were changed when they were remastered for the collection. It's tragic because he was the main composer for the entire Dragon Ball franchise.
EDIT: Disregard the last sentence. hikarutilmitt and javac corrected me down below.
Here's another example of one of my favorite tracks:
Anyway, here's my contribution. Skullgirls opening theme.
This definitely sounds like Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN2AdOjI4FI
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Legally, how does all this work? E.g. If I have a piece of music for a game that sounds very similar to some original licensed music: is it enough to reference the original in the credits or would I need to purchase the license first?
Also, how would this work for music that isn't included in an official soundtrack like unreleased tracks?
Also, how would this work for music that isn't included in an official soundtrack like unreleased tracks?
Er, no. He did composition for DBKai, which is where his plagiarising came to light more clearly. He only did soundtracks for some of the movies and Kai, as far as DB is concerned. Shunsuke Kikuchi did the composition for the rest of DB and DBZ until he retired. They also replaced Yamamoto's soundtrack to Kai with Kikuchi's because of it.
Bit more on topic:
I've always wondered the line we all draw, mentally, between ripping off/plagiarising, paying homage (no matter how fiercely) and freely using a composition for protected cases (like, well, Weird Al). Some of these might be culturally less bothersome and I'd like to think that most game directors would prefer original music, but sometimes you get a hook that's just too good to pass on, because thematically it's just so damned perfect.
Like the below:
Correct, he composed Kai up until episode 95 whilst it was airing on Japanese TV, Toei showed him the door and hastily replaced it with the Kikuchi score for those remaining 3 episodes. In regards to the BD release of Kai the Yamamoto score plays up until episode 52 and then replace it with the Kikuch score. The original broadcast of DBZ in Japan also has some Yamamoto tracks such as Battle Point Unlimited and insert songs like Mind Power Ki that they've since replaced, Battle Point for example got replaced with this background music from the 7th movie (https://youtu.be/rGa7x4MCGgY?t=5m26s), Yamamoto also worked as an arranger on DBZ, working on the 1st OP and the ED.
Thanks for the correction. I edited my post to cite you and hikarutilmitt.
I am not a lawyer, but since some of the examples really stretch the idea of plagiarism:
Wikpedia: Music Plagiarism discusses many of the aspects of it and a list of successful/unsuccessful cases.
Wikipedia: Crytomnesia discusses the very real problem with our memory and how it can cause us to imitate or even plagiarize ideas.
In the courts, the accusing party has to prove two things:
1. Access: Is there some relationship or background that makes it likely the defendant heard the original piece. If you reference a song in the credits you've inadvertently proved this.
2. Substantial Similarity: Seperately prove the composition and/or sound recording are copied, usually going so far as to turn off aspects of a track (such as background vocals or beats) to isolate things.
The courts are notoriously unpredictable about this so many cases are settled privately. But some defenses exist:
- De minimis (copied section is too small to be copyrightable)
- Statue of Limitations (you can only win damages on the past 3 years of infringement)
- Fair Use
- Scenes a faire (music elements that are so common that they are automatically public domain)
- Ownership (prove that the accuser doesn't own it either. Prior works defense)
Someone at Capcom really liked Guns N' Roses. The western release of Mega Man X5 also changed all of the Maverick names to be named after GnR members (I.E. Duff McWhalen, Squid Adler.)
Thanks, Crazymoogle . This seems like quite a complicated issue. Referencing something in the credits could be a bad thing, in this case, unless you license the music you're imitating. Not as simple as I thought.
Was playing Project Cars 2 this evening and knew I had heard this arrangement of four notes in another game.
Not huge, definitely just a coincidence, but fun nonetheless. Prefect timing on the thread for me to share this.
Not huge, definitely just a coincidence, but fun nonetheless. Prefect timing on the thread for me to share this.
Not a plagiarism case, but a weird unintentional coincidence within the Sonic franchise. First off, Green Hill Zone:
And here's Dreams of an Absolution from Sonic '06. The song's artist said later on that the similarities to Green Hill Zone (which you can hear from 0:42 to 0:55) were entirely not intentional:
And here's Dreams of an Absolution from Sonic '06. The song's artist said later on that the similarities to Green Hill Zone (which you can hear from 0:42 to 0:55) were entirely not intentional:
The music from Frogger (other than the bit that's just Camptown Races)...
...is the theme song from the anime Araiguma Rascal.
...is the theme song from the anime Araiguma Rascal.
The beginning of this trailer:
And the main theme of this track (0:35):
Seems like straight up rip-off.
And the main theme of this track (0:35):
Seems like straight up rip-off.
