Sam Smith Ordered To Pay Royalties To Tom Petty For ‘Stay With Me’

Sam Smith will be paying Tom Petty for the rest of his life after the crooner was ordered to pay royalties for his smash hit, 'Stay With Me.'

Sam Smith settled out of court with Petty back in October after it was pointed out to Smith's camp that 'Stay With Me' bears heavy similarities to Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker's 1989 single, 'I Won't Back Down.'

After it was pointed out to Sam’s camp, they didn’t try to fight it and amicably dished out royalties. It wasn’t a deliberate thing, musicians are just inspired by other artists and Sam and his team were quick to hold up their hand when it was officially flagged.

This is a very common scenario for songwriters, even when the intention isn't to "steal" the work of another artist. Most songwriters are naturally inspired by their influences—much like Pharrell and Robin Thicke were inspired by Marvin Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up' to make 'Blurred Lines'—but when there are millions of dollars to be made, everybody wants their cut.

Petty is now listed along with Smith, Jeff Lynne, and Jimmy Napes (the songs original singer-composer) as one of the chief songwriters for ‘Stay With Me’ by ASCAP and will collect a 12.5% royalty payment.

Clearly, inspiration comes with a price tag.

Do you hear the similarities? Should Smith have paid Petty?

[via Diffuser]