Am I the only one who only knew The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” as “that song that was completely fucking inescapable in 1997” and had no idea about the 21 years of drama around it that followed
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Am I the only one who only knew The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” as “that song that was completely fucking inescapable in 1997” and had no idea about the 21 years (!!!) of legal drama that followed
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Jason Lefkowitzreplied to Jason Lefkowitz last edited by
"To this day, the only publishing money that [The Verve's Richard] Ashcroft has ever received from 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' is $1,000, which he was paid as part of the settlement deal — a tiny fraction of the almost $5 million that Billboard estimates the song has earned in total publishing revenue through sales and synchronization on commercials, movies and TV shows over the years. As the songwriter, Ashcroft’s share would have been worth at least 50% of that, although he might own his publishing or have a co-publishing deal, which would call for anywhere from a 60% to 90% split of the royalties."
Here’s How Richard Ashcroft Won Back “Bitter Sweet Symphony” Rights From The Rolling Stones
When Steve Kutner and John Kennedy took over managing Richard Ashcroft in early 2018, they knew one of the first things on their task list would be to look for a resolution to their client’s long-held grievance over ownership of the iconic song, the Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony.” Released in 1997 as the lead single […]
Stereogum (www.stereogum.com)
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@jalefkowit I know it as that song from the Nike "I can" commercial.
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@jasonsando Apparently the band never wanted to license it for use in commercials, but the Rolling Stones' old manager had pried the rights to it out from under them and he was more than happy to sell it
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@jalefkowit I've never known the details, but I was aware of the drama in '97. Uncleared stones sample?
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@nyquildotorg Kinda sorta, but that was just the beginning of it. It’s layer one of a 7-layer dip
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Definitely know the song but didn’t know the drama. My brain only had one row in the “guy named Ashcroft writes a song” table, until now.
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@shaun Let the EAGLEEEEEE soar
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@[email protected] I'm a huge Verve fan. Urban Hymns is an amazing album start to finish. Definitely give it a listen. You can always skip Bittersweet.
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@TheLastOfHisName oh, I still have the CD from way back when