Originally Posted by Matt Finley
It’s not just the melody that is copyrighted. Hooks can count. A unique rhythmic figure can count.
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True. Anything that is song-specific and an integral part of the song is part of the copyright.

How specific? That depends on the court, if it goes to trial.

But say you used the guitar lick from “Day Tripper” from The Beatles in your song, I would think you should consult a lawyer before you upload it, or record it.

Then again, listen to Michael Jackson's “Billie Jean” and Billy Ocean's “Caribbean Queen” and you hear the same 2 measure background figure played over and over.

When I write my User Styles I tend to avoid song-specific licks. In my early days of style writing, one of my customers asked for a “Don't Be Cruel” style. It was a challenge, but I did it. But it was only good for one song, and if you used the style for any other song, it just shouted “Don't Be Cruel”. Lesson learned, BiaB styles need to be more generic.

If you are trying to cover a song, IMO use a MIDI style, export the song and import it into a DAW or MIDI sequencer. Then you can insert the licks with the same instrument that plays the rest of the song. Of course, then you need to play the song only where it is legal.

Notes ♫

Last edited by Notes Norton; 02/16/24 07:22 AM. Reason: Added some second thoughts
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