Tom Petty and his producer Jeff Lynne will each get a songwriting credit and royalties for Sam Smith's Grammy-nominated hit "Stay With Me" after they discovered its melody was strikingly similar to that of Petty's own 1989 classic, "I Won’t Back Down."
"About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam. All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen," Petty said in a statement,
Time magazine reported.
"Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement. The word 'lawsuit' was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it. How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career."
Earlier this week, representatives for Smith released a statement that said the similar sound was purely an accident.
"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-writers of 'Stay With Me' along with Sam Smith, James Napier, and William Phillips."
As part of the agreement, if Smith wins a Grammy, Petty and Lynne will not be credited with the award.
"Rather, they would be given certificates to honor their participation in the work, just as any other writers of sampled or interpolated work," said a rep for the awards show.
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