Quiz: how much money has Stairway to Heaven made in royalty payments?

[eDave]

An accountant testified Tuesday that Page and Plant have received a combined $1 million in "Stairway" gross revenues since 2011. An executive for record label Rhino Entertainment Co. said the song brought in $3 million in sales and netted $868,000 in that period.

[Simply Red]

Now is this the Led Zeppelin or Neil Sedaka's version?

[alpha_omega]

Jury deliberating after Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant says he doesn't remember band's early days

Jurors could rewrite a key chapter of rock 'n' roll history as they deliberate whether Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant lifted a riff from fellow rockers for its epic "Stairway to Heaven."

Federal court jurors deliberated for several hours in Los Angeles on Wednesday after closing arguments were completed, but they did not reach a verdict. They're scheduled to resume Thursday.

The trust for Randy Wolfe is seeking millions of dollars and a third of the songwriting credit for "Stairway," which it claims the band took from "Taurus," released by Wolfe's band Spirit in 1968.

A lawyer representing the trust of a deceased songwriter criticized members of Led Zeppelin for selective memories and convenient truths in testifying about the origin of Page's acoustic guitar opening of the 1971 rock anthem.

Plant, whose memory of creating "Stairway" was clear, claimed to recall very few encounters dating back to the band's early days.

Plant told a packed courtroom that he did not remember hanging out with members of the band Spirit after the American band played a Birmingham, England, show in 1970, though he said he and his wife were in a bad car wreck and he has no memory of the evening.

"I don't have a recollection of mostly anyone I've hung out with," Plant said as the courtroom roared with laughter. "In the chaos and hubbub, how are you going to remember one guy when you haven't seen him for 40 years."

Spirit's former bass player had testified to drinking beers with Plant and playing the billiards-like game snooker after a show at Mother's Club in 1970.

"He didn't tell you where he got the idea for the introduction," attorney Francis Malofiy said in his closing argument in federal court in Los Angeles. "It was a piece of music lifted from 'Taurus.'"

Led Zeppelin's lawyer, however, said the trust didn't own the copyright and the passage in question was a common descending chord sequence in the public domain.

Attorney Peter Anderson also said the plaintiff failed to prove a case that should have been brought more than 40 years ago when Wolfe was alive and Page and Plant would have had better memories.

"How can you wait a half century and criticize people ... 45 years later for the delay you caused?" Anderson said. "They should have sued in 1972."

If the jury finds that the "Taurus" copyright was violated, jurors would have a wide range of damages to consider.

An expert for estate trustee Michael Skidmore, said Led Zeppelin work that included "Stairway" earned gross revenues of nearly $60 million in the past five years. Some of that work, however, included other songs and could be part of a 2008 deal that's outside the statute of limitations.

Defense experts offered much smaller figures focused solely on revenues from the song in its many forms — as a digital download, ringtones, streaming and as a fraction of multiple albums.

A British accountant testified Tuesday that the gross revenues Page and Plant received from "Stairway" during that time period amounted to just over $1 million.

An executive for Led Zeppelin's label, Rhino Entertainment Co., said the song earned $3 million in revenue and a net profit of $868,000 since 2011.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...ml?intcmp=hpff

[Amnorix]

So Led Zeppelin won the case. No infringement.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

So Led Zeppelin won the case. No infringement.

Thank God!

http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/23/medi....html?adkey=bn

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by eDave

Thank God!

http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/23/medi....html?adkey=bn

I'm actually shocked the case even made it to trial. Not only was it 40+ years after the fact, there's no way to prove that Zeppelin actually heard the Spirit song and either intentionally or unintentionally lifted a portion of it.

That said, there is more similarity between the Zeppelin and Spirit songs than the Marvin Gaye and Pharell/Robin Thicke songs. That was a travesty, IMO.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

So Led Zeppelin won the case. No infringement.

.....as it should be.

..that song does nothing but build to a frenzy after that opening sequence.

In fact, Page stated back in those days, going faster and faster was considered a big no no...and you can hear it..and its lovely..when Bonham finally chimes in...oh man...it just shifts gears.

[Amnorix]

Can I ask a related question -- how the HELL can Vanilla Ice get away with copying Queen's Under Pressure like he did. Or did he?

[eDave]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Can I ask a related question -- how the HELL can Vanilla Ice get away with copying Queen's Under Pressure like he did. Or did he?

If he paid royalties, he's fine.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Can I ask a related question -- how the HELL can Vanilla Ice get away with copying Queen's Under Pressure like he did. Or did he?

That occurred in the early days of sampling (which was an absolutely nightmare for publishers). It took a couple of years but Queen was eventually paid Artist and Publisher royalties, along with being added as songwriters.

After Ice Ice Baby and Tone Loc's sampling of Van Halen's Jamie's Crying, publishers began taking the unique step of not pay ANY publishing royalties to either the rapper/songwriter and the band/Artist that was sampled until Song Splits had been negotiated by all interested parties. In many cases, neither side was paid for years on end. In some cases (and I saw more than a few of these), Rapper/Composers that claimed to write their songs in their entirety were given $400-$500k advances, only to release an album that contained samples.

In those cases, the publisher was just out the dough, because no one was going to settle.

It was a nightmare.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

That occurred in the early days of sampling (which was an absolutely nightmare for publishers). It took a couple of years but Queen was eventually paid Artist and Publisher royalties, along with being added as songwriters.

After Ice Ice Baby and Tone Loc's sampling of Van Halen's Jamie's Crying, publishers began taking the unique step of not pay ANY publishing royalties to either the rapper/songwriter and the band/Artist that was sampled until Song Splits had been negotiated by all interested parties. In many cases, neither side was paid for years on end. In some cases (and I saw more than a few of these), Rapper/Composers that claimed to write their songs in their entirety were given $400-$500k advances, only to release an album that contained samples.

In those cases, the publisher was just out the dough, because no one was going to settle.

It was a nightmare.

Thanks for this. Is "sampling" the industry term for borrowing a riff or entire melody from another song and incorporating it into your own?

And believe me when I say that every word that you write about the music industry is news to me. I know absolutely nothing about it (as is probably obvious by now) and I thank you for your insight and patience!

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Thanks for this. Is "sampling" the industry term for borrowing a riff or entire melody from another song and incorporating it into your own?

"Sampling" is taking an existing portion of a song and using it to create a new song. For example, James Brown's music is the most sampled music of all time. Rappers & Hip Hop Artists have used portions of his music as breaks or have used them as the music "bed", so to speak, and "Rap" over that music. In essence, no new music is being created. It's pre-existing music that's using a portion or "sample" of the music.

For example, in Tone Loc's Wild Thing, Eddie Van Halen's guitar from Jamie's Crying, along with Alex's signature drum fill can be clearly heard. When those aren't in play, there's a drum machine keeping the beat, or acting as the music bed, while Tone Loc raps.

Originally Posted by Amnorix

And believe me when I say that every word that you write about the music industry is news to me. I know absolutely nothing about it (as is probably obvious by now) and I thank you for your insight and patience!

No worries.

[Rain Man]

I just went to youtube and listened to Taurus. (And by the way, did they make any money because I did that?)

It's not a very good song.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I just went to youtube and listened to Taurus. (And by the way, did they make any money because I did that?)

No. It's one of the biggest issues in the music business today. Google refuses to pay licensing fees and royalties claiming "Safe Harbor".

It's a sham.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

No. It's one of the biggest issues in the music business today. Google refuses to pay licensing fees and royalties claiming "Safe Harbor".

It's a sham.

That's kind of the only place I listen to music other than the stuff I bought on itunes.