Tom Petty will receive songwriting credit on Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” as part of a copyright dispute settlement.

Tom Petty Settles Copyright Dispute With Sam Smith

Petty, along with Jeff Lynne, were added as songwriters to Smith’s breakout hit after the duo reportedly contacted Smith’s camp citing similarities between “Stay With Me” and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down.”

“Not previously familiar with the 1989 Petty/Lynne song, the writers of ‘Stay With Me’ listened to ‘I Won’t Back Down’ and acknowledged the similarity,” said a representative for Smith.

Smiths’ rep added that, while Petty and Lynne would now be receiving songwriting credit, fans should not take that as an admission of plagiarism:

“Although the likeness was a complete coincidence, all involved came to an immediate and amicable agreement in which Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are now credited as co-songwriters of ‘Stay With Me’ along with Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips.”

Tom Petty & Jeff Lynne Not Eligible For Grammy

Smith’s “Stay With Me” is currently nominated for three Grammys, but a Grammy Awards official stated that Petty and Lynne would not be eligible to receive an award should “Stay With Me” take home any trophies because they did not produce any new material for the track. Instead, Senior Vice President of Awards Bill Freimuth revealed that they would be “given certificates to honor their participation in the work, just as any other writers of sampled or interpolated work.”

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.