Lana Del Rey has confirmed that she is being sued by Radiohead over similarities between her 2017 album track ‘Get Free’ and Radiohead’s 1992 hit single ‘Creep’.
Del Rey Tweeted candidly on Sunday: “Although I know my song wasn’t inspired by ‘Creep’, Radiohead feel it was and want 100% of the publishing. I offered up to 40 over the last few months but they will only accept 100. Their lawyers have been relentless, so we will deal with it in court”.
Now we don’t yet know whether it is Radiohead or their publishers Warner Chappell pursuing Del Rey but it will be interesting to see how this one plays out (sorry) and whether it does end up in court.
The first 85 seconds of the track are incredibly reminiscent of ‘Creep’ but let’s not forget that ‘Creep’ itself was incredibly reminiscent of The Hollies 1974 single ‘The Air That I Breathe’. So much so, Radiohead settled and gave Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood songwriting credits and the same percentage of royalties as Thom Yorke (between them).
The fact that Del Rey has made them an offer for 40% shows that she is willing to concede those first 85 seconds. The chorus is a very different melody to both Creep and The Air That I Breathe however so should the whole song be carved up and split further? Watch this space for updates!