Image via Harmony Gerber
Lana Del Rey revealed today that Radiohead is planning to sue her for copyright infringement. Reports first surfaced over the weekend that the rock band was considering a lawsuit against the singer for her song “Get Free.” Radiohead claims the track copies their debut single “Creep.”
In a statement on Twitter, Del Rey said the song wasn’t inspired by “Creep” but added that she’s offered 40 percent of publishing during settlement negotiations. Since Radiohead won’t budge from their request of 100 percent, the lawsuit is going forward:
“Creep” helped Radiohead break through to the mainstream on their 1993 debut studio album Pablo Honey, reaching No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Coincidentally, Radiohead ended up giving Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood retroactive songwriting credits on the track following a lawsuit from their publisher Rondor Music for its similar chord progression and melody to The Hollies‘ “The Air That I Breathe.”
On “Creep,” Thom Yorke sings about lacking the self-confidence to approach a woman he likes:
Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You’re so fuckin' special
I wish I was special
But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
“Get Free” is the last track from Del Rey’s 2017 album Lust for Life. The LP debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and earned her a 2018 Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Pop Vocal Album. The currently listed songwriters are Del Rey, Kieron Menzies and Rick Nowels. Although the song doesn’t share lyrics with “Creep,” the first half of the track arguably has a similar melody.
Del Rey sings about taking control of her happiness on “Get Free”:
I never really noticed that I had to decide
To play someone’s game or live my own life
And now I do
I wanna move
Out of the black (out of the black)
Into the blue (into the blue)
Last month, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars were sued yet again for “Uptown Funk” based on a similar claim that it infringes on The Sequence’s 1979 song “Funk You Up.”
Read all the lyrics to Lana Del Rey’s “Get Free” on Genius now.
