God, it's brutal out here. Olivia Rodrigo's retroactive songwriting credits on her acclaimed debut album SOUR have opened up a greater discussion about originality, and she's responded to the criticism that's been thrown her way in a new interview.
On the cover of this month's Teen Vogue, the 18-year-old pop star opened up about her decision to give songwriting credits for her hit singles "déja vu" and "good 4 u" to some of her influences after people online pointed out their similarities to other songs — Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer" and Paramore's "Misery Business," respectively.
Rodrigo gave Swift and co-writers Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent credits back in July, with Paramore's Hayley Williams and ex-guitarist Josh Farro being added as co-writers to the ASCAP metadata in August. The starlet was also reportedly in talks with Paramore before "good 4 u" was even released, so the interpolation of the band's 2007 RIOT! track seems deliberate rather than an accidental sound-alike.
"Writing songs about how I feel has always been easy and fun for me, and I think the business side of music has been something I've had a harder time learning," Rodrigo told interviewer P. Claire Dodson, addressing the controversy around her choice to dole out writing credits to her most direct influences. Dodson also insightfully points out that the "drivers license" hitmaker is coming up in an era of the music industry being incredibly litigious following the 2015 "Blurred Lines" copyright case.
"I think it's disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman's work," the singer-songwriter continued. "But at the end of the day I'm just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter … All music is inspired by each other. Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first; I came up with the lyrics and the melody for 'good 4 u' one morning in the shower."
Rodrigo has always been vocal about the artists that she's drawn inspiration from, and she shows no signs of stopping to express that admiration. "What's so beautiful about music is that it can be so inspired by music that's come out in the past," she added. "Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them. It's sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process. Nothing in music is ever new. There's four chords in every song. That's the fun part — trying to make that your own."
And right she is. It's hard to say whether Rodrigo's response to the internet's echo chamber of accusations only brought more criticism, but you can understand why she felt the need to make sure she was covered legally by adding the artists to which comparisons were being drawn as co-writers.
In the end, interpolation has always been — and will always be — foundational to making music, and artists shouldn't have to worry about coming under fire for the visibility of their music's heritage. Maybe Rodrigo's making the right call by just citing her sources.
SOUR landed on Exclaim!'s list of the 31 best albums of 2021 so far.
On the cover of this month's Teen Vogue, the 18-year-old pop star opened up about her decision to give songwriting credits for her hit singles "déja vu" and "good 4 u" to some of her influences after people online pointed out their similarities to other songs — Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer" and Paramore's "Misery Business," respectively.
Rodrigo gave Swift and co-writers Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent credits back in July, with Paramore's Hayley Williams and ex-guitarist Josh Farro being added as co-writers to the ASCAP metadata in August. The starlet was also reportedly in talks with Paramore before "good 4 u" was even released, so the interpolation of the band's 2007 RIOT! track seems deliberate rather than an accidental sound-alike.
"Writing songs about how I feel has always been easy and fun for me, and I think the business side of music has been something I've had a harder time learning," Rodrigo told interviewer P. Claire Dodson, addressing the controversy around her choice to dole out writing credits to her most direct influences. Dodson also insightfully points out that the "drivers license" hitmaker is coming up in an era of the music industry being incredibly litigious following the 2015 "Blurred Lines" copyright case.
"I think it's disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman's work," the singer-songwriter continued. "But at the end of the day I'm just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter … All music is inspired by each other. Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first; I came up with the lyrics and the melody for 'good 4 u' one morning in the shower."
Rodrigo has always been vocal about the artists that she's drawn inspiration from, and she shows no signs of stopping to express that admiration. "What's so beautiful about music is that it can be so inspired by music that's come out in the past," she added. "Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them. It's sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process. Nothing in music is ever new. There's four chords in every song. That's the fun part — trying to make that your own."
And right she is. It's hard to say whether Rodrigo's response to the internet's echo chamber of accusations only brought more criticism, but you can understand why she felt the need to make sure she was covered legally by adding the artists to which comparisons were being drawn as co-writers.
In the end, interpolation has always been — and will always be — foundational to making music, and artists shouldn't have to worry about coming under fire for the visibility of their music's heritage. Maybe Rodrigo's making the right call by just citing her sources.
SOUR landed on Exclaim!'s list of the 31 best albums of 2021 so far.
