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[IbizaPocholo]

Naughty Dog Accused of Not Crediting a Songwriter's Cover in Latest TLOU2 Trailer

Once again, Naughty Dog stands accused of not crediting/acknowledging an artist's work in the TV trailer for The Last of Us Part II.

wccftech.com

Seattle-based singer and songwriter Anna-Lynne Williams claimed on Twitter that the song featured in the commercial is 'copied' from her own cover of the original song. She claims to have added her own lyrics, which would support her demand for credit and/or compensation.

Hey, are you aware that the True Faith cover you put in your The Last of Us Part II trailer is a replica of my cover that came out 10 years ago? I wrote original parts not in the original song that are copied exactly by whoever covered it. I am heartbroken.
Your fans seem to have noticed because they're commenting on my old video thinking it's the same song. Credit? Compensation? At 3:30 in my song in particular is the vocal part that I wrote which is featured in your trailer exactly.

Interestingly, the official YouTube upload of the commercial has been now set to private, which suggests Sony might be evaluating the musician's claims.

 

[Bryank75]

Eh...it's a cover and they did get the original artists permission. Don't see how it's a big deal... it's not like she wrote the whole song, just added a line or something.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Anyone have a legal treatise at the ready that summarizes the status quo of copyright law for a derivation created by compulsory license under the Lanham Act?

My gut tells me she may have a copyright over the arrangement but only over the novel elements she introduced. I’ve not researched the issue nor am I up to speed in case law in the field.

As far as big deal or no deal, I’d rate this as somewhere just above no deal only because ND has had accusations of plagiarism in the past that were a little more meaty than this. But it being used in a commercial as opposed to being in the original work (as far as I’m aware) renders the severity relatively blunt.

 

[YCoCg]

I guess there's just no way of knowing

 

[Jon Neu]

Eh...it's a cover and they did get the original artists permission. Don't see how it's a big deal... it's not like she wrote the whole song, just added a line or something.

If they used that line, then they should give her credit.

Otherwise, don’t use it.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

What a stupid bitch.

 

[phil_t98]

What a stupid bitch.

Harsh and why would you think that? if she has a legitimate claim then she far from stupid

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

Harsh and why would you think that? if she has a legitimate claim then she far from stupid

It's not her song.

She's complaining that Naughty Dog didn't credit her cover of the original song even though it was 98% the same as the original with the addition of one lyric.

Naughty Dog already got permission from the original artist. Why is she complaining about a single lyric?

 

[Fushitsusha]

Naughty Dog already got permission from the original artist. Why is she complaining about a single lyric?

Attention and fame.

 

[Degree]

If they used that line, then they should give her credit.

Otherwise, don’t use it.

I agree. Why is it so hard to give credit? I don’t get it.

 

[Jon Neu]

It's not her song.

But it’s her added lyrics.

If you don’t want problems, don’t use her added lyrics. You’re not forced to, you can use the original without the added lyrics.

I think Naughty Dog just messed up and did a cover of her version without realizing it was an altered version, not just the original.

 

[Deleted member 775630]

It's not her song.

She's complaining that Naughty Dog didn't credit her cover of the original song even though it was 98% the same as the original with the addition of one lyric.

Naughty Dog already got permission from the original artist. Why is she complaining about a single lyric?

One added sentence is enough to make that specific cover hers. So she should be credited.

 

[Bryank75]

Harsh and why would you think that? if she has a legitimate claim then she far from stupid

She doesn't.... it's like someone crafted a beautiful chair and then someone else comes along and puts a fluffy pillow on it and says 'I created all of that'...

If that's the case I'm going to add one word or line to every song... it will be the same line for all of them (a three word sentence). Then I will own all those covers of songs and load them onto spotify etc.

 

[Jon Neu]

She doesn't..

Yes, she does. If they use her lyrics, she should be credited.

And I’m sure Naughty Soy and Cuckmann are coming with an apology the moment they saw it was a girl the one asking for credit.

Cuckmann is probably fighting with Sony managers as we speak.

Spoiler: The fight

 

[Mr Hyde]

And I’m sure Naughty Soy and Cuckmann are coming with an apology the moment they saw it was a girl the one asking for credit.

Cuckmann is probably fighting with Sony managers as we speak.

Your hate boner for Naughty Dog is so fucking pathetic. You jump on every chance to talk shit about them, even irrelevant shit like this.

 

[Jon Neu]

Your hate boner for Naughty Dog is so fucking pathetic. You jump on every chance to talk shit about them, even irrelevant shit like this.

It’s more a hate boner for pathetic fanboys, which there are plenty.

But sorry for critizicing your beloved Naughty Soys and side with the girl in this case. I would side with her regardless of the dev involved, but when is a dear Sony dev, I knew I will have to deal with the fanboys and their silly personal attacks.

And here we are. I predict the future.

 

[Mr Hyde]

It’s more a hate boner for pathetic fanboys, which there are plenty.

But sorry for critizicing your beloved Naughty Soys and side with the girl in this case. I would side with her regardless of the dev involved, but when is a dear Sony dev, I knew I will have to deal with the fanboys and their silly personal attacks.

And here we are. I predict the future.

You wouldn't give two shits about this if it were another dev, but now you saw your chance to come in and scream about Cuckmann and Naughty Soy at the top of your lungs. As I said. Fucking pathetic. Your whole schtick is so transparent it's ridiculous. What a sad fucking loser you are.

 

[phil_t98]

It's not her song.

She's complaining that Naughty Dog didn't credit her cover of the original song even though it was 98% the same as the original with the addition of one lyric.

Naughty Dog already got permission from the original artist. Why is she complaining about a single lyric?

She added additional lyrics and they used her version. That’s how Copyright works. She has a writing credit to that version.

 

[Jon Neu]

You wouldn't give two shits about this if it were another dev

Probably the thread wouldn’t exist in the first place.

What a sad fucking loser you are

See? It’s so funny to see fanboys get incredibly angry just by critizicing their dear devs or companies. I love Uncharted 4 and I’m sure I’m going to love TLOU2, my criticism of Naughty Soy is more on the funny side, I think they are totally entitled to put whatever agenda they want in their games and I’m totally entitled to make fun of their agenda. The fact that by doing that I trigger so many fanboys like you, it’s just the cherry on top of the cake.

So thank you. I love you.

 

[phil_t98]

She doesn't.... it's like someone crafted a beautiful chair and then someone else comes along and puts a fluffy pillow on it and says 'I created all of that'...

If that's the case I'm going to add one word or line to every song... it will be the same line for all of them (a three word sentence). Then I will own all those covers of songs and load them onto spotify etc.

No she added addition lyrics and they used them.

 

[The Rain King]

Remember when Naughty Dog stole Ubisoft art for their Uncharted 4 trailer? They can't keep getting away with this!

 

[MaxwellParrish]

Yes, she does. If they use her lyrics, she should be credited

Spoiler: The fight

There are no new lyrics in the Williams cover. The only difference from the original lyrics is the change of the word "boy" to " girl" in reference to the narrating self , wich is hardly of any significance . The " vocal parts" she is referring to in her twitter is actually some sort of humming bridge that, at least in The last of Us 2 spot, merely reproposes the melody. The arrangement of the song surely is way more similar to the Williams cover that to the New Order original, but , frankly, is such a basic "slow tempo, acustic version" that I find easy to believe that the similarity is just incidental

 

[kuncol02]

One added sentence is enough to make that specific cover hers. So she should be credited.

Her singing is enough to make that cover hers. Imagine that someone used Hurt song by Johny Cash and credited only NIN, or Respect from Aretha Franklin and credited it only to Otis Redding.

 

[Dodkrake]

Even if naughty dog didn't need to credit, I think it shows good faith crediting the cover artist as well by name.

 

[Steve.1981]

What a load of absolute bollocks. She covers the song & adds a line, so she deserves some form of credit or compensation? Nah. That's not how it works.

People are so entitled these days.

Her singing is enough to make that cover hers. Imagine that someone used Hurt song by Johny Cash and credited only NIN, or Respect from Aretha Franklin and credited it only to Otis Redding.

She didn't write the song. New Order did. Doesn't matter if she covered it. It's their song, not hers.

What you describe is exactly what should happen. Trent Reznor wrote Hurt, not Johnny Cash. He just covered it. Otis Redding wrote Respect, not Aretha Franklin. She just covered it.

 

[angelic]

Its not about adding 1 lyric, it's if the trailer (not seen) version copies her arrangement. Song covers dont happen automatically through a machine, the artist has to make their own arrangement..which takes work. Im against copyright trolls in general, but if they copied her version of the song, it's theft.

 

[kuncol02]

What a load of absolute bollocks. She covers the song & adds a line, so she deserves some form of credit or compensation? Nah. That's not how it works.

People are so entitled these days.



She didn't write the song. New Order did. Doesn't matter if she covered it. It's their song, not hers.

What you describe is exactly what should happen. Trent Reznor wrote Hurt, not Johnny Cash. He just covered it. Otis Redding wrote Respect, not Aretha Franklin. She just covered it.

So you are saying is that I can use Whisky in the Jar from Metalica and credit it only as Irish traditional song? They didn't wrote it.

 

[MaxwellParrish]

Her singing is enough to make that cover hers. Imagine that someone used Hurt song by Johny Cash and credited only NIN, or Respect from Aretha Franklin and credited it only to Otis Redding.

They didn't use her singing, obviously. The singing in the tv spot is provided by Ellie's voice actress . The claim of Anna-Lynne Williams is that the cover is based on her cover, not that they have used her cover directly

 

[phil_t98]

What a load of absolute bollocks. She covers the song & adds a line, so she deserves some form of credit or compensation? Nah. That's not how it works.

People are so entitled these days.



She didn't write the song. New Order did. Doesn't matter if she covered it. It's their song, not hers.

What you describe is exactly what should happen. Trent Reznor wrote Hurt, not Johnny Cash. He just covered it. Otis Redding wrote Respect, not Aretha Franklin. She just covered it.

Is a script is being written and somebody adds a line to the script they get a credit that’s how it works. They copied her version with the added lyrics and Humming in the same place which wasn’t in the original song.

 

[Bryank75]

So you are saying is that I can use Whisky in the Jar from Metalica and credit it only as Irish traditional song? They didn't wrote it.

Better version is by Thin Lizzy anyway!

 

[Steve.1981]

So you are saying is that I can use Whisky in the Jar from Metalica and credit it only as Irish traditional song? They didn't wrote it.

Whiskey in the Jar is, as you said, a traditional Irish folk song. Metallica don't own it. If anything you would need to credit Thin Lizzy, because Metallica just copied their arrangement of the song.

 

[Steve.1981]

Is a script is being written and somebody adds a line to the script they get a credit that’s how it works. They copied her version with the added lyrics and Humming in the same place which wasn’t in the original song.

So script-writing credits work the exact same way as song-writing credits? Is that what you're saying?

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

I think Naughty Dog just messed up and did a cover of her version without realizing it was an altered version, not just the original.

This is exactly what happened.

God Bless Neil Drunkmann.

 

[kuncol02]

They didn't use her singing, obviously. The singing in the tv spot is provided by Ellie's voice actress . The claim of Anna-Lynne Williams is that the cover is based on her cover, not that they have used her cover directly

That actually change everything. And that's not obvious. For me copied song is copied whole song (music, lyrics, arrangement), not copied lyrics.

 

[Sw0pDiller]

In the Netherlands we have a saying: "Hoge bomen vangen veel wind" it directly translates in: "high trees catch a lot of wind" it means when you are "big" or "top dog" everybody wants a piece of it.

 

[Geki-D]

I'm guessing it's more about the arrangement of the song, because I just checked and the ad doesn't use any lyrics that aren't in the original song by New Order. There are no newly added lines in that ad.

 

[Whitecrow]

She bought a license so she can have her cover uploaded and considered 'hers'.
Whatever the changes, the minumum ND could have done is credit her.

 

[Geki-D]

Ok wait, so Anna-Lynne Williams says that the part that's copied is a 3:30 in her song... So there's only one part of the ad that's similar to that part and... It's just pretty much humming to the the tune?





...So those "lyrics" she added are, and I quote "OHHHH OHHH OHHH AHHH HUMMM"... Like, is this shit actually serious?

 

[Hostile_18]

It's probably just an over sight. Naughty Dog bought a song in good faith off a third party and it may or may not have taken some other artists work (unbeknownst to them).

There will be an investigation and things will be put right. Not a massive deal as long as long as everyone is credited as appropriate.

 

[turtlepowa]

A woman not properly esteemed for her work on TLOU2 ? Time for good guy Druckmann to fight for her rights!

 

[Dibils2k]

Eh...it's a cover and they did get the original artists permission. Don't see how it's a big deal... it's not like she wrote the whole song, just added a line or something.

my god you are brainwashed (EDIT: and many others based on replies, Sony/ND is in the wrong here, there is literally no matter of opinion)

the musician is in their full rights to want/expect credit

 

[Eliciel]

Ok wait, so Anna-Lynne Williams says that the part that's copied is a 3:30 in her song... So there's only one part of the ad that's similar to that part and... It's just pretty much humming to the the tune?





...So those "lyrics" she added are, and I quote "OHHHH OHHH OHHH AHHH HUMMM"... Like, is this shit actually serious?

case closed, Karen has been busted. It's going to be a dramatic settlement!

 

[The Cockatrice]

She deleted the tweet because she realized how dumb her claim was.

 

[Terenty]

The most damning thing is that this song is interfering with the more important voices right now. For shame Sony, for shame

 

[jonnyp]

Haha what a ridiculous, frivolous claim by her.

 

[prinz_valium]

Always great to make a story out of nothing

 

[jts]

She deleted the tweet because she realized how dumb her claim was.

Or probably because she had the Naughty Dogs released on her. Death threats over/under 100?

 

[The Cockatrice]

Or probably because she had the Naughty Dogs released on her. Death threats over/under 100?

 

[Geki-D]

Or probably because she had the Naughty Dogs released on her. Death threats over/under 100?

Love to see your proof of this.

 

[jts]

Love to see your proof of this.

I'm sure you do.