Rocker EDDIE VEDDER is fighting legal action from a Canadian singer/songwriter for changing the lyrics to a song he recorded for the INTO THE WILD soundtrack. The Pearl Jam star recorded Gordon Peterson's tune Hard Sun in 2007 for Sean Penn's hit film, but Peterson, who originally wrote the track in 1987, wasn't happy when he heard the finished version - and realised the rock icon had altered the lyrics. Peterson is now suing Vedder and has filed papers in New York's Manhattan federal court. The suit states, "Vedder altered certain key lyrics of Hard Sun... eroding the integrity of the composition." Executives at Universal Music are also targeted in the lawsuit after allegedly licensing the track without his permission. Peterson is demanding all profits from the "acts of infringement". However, Vedder's lawyer Gregory Clarick insists Peterson has no grounds for complaint. He tells the New York Post, "We don't see any basis for a copyright infringement claim."
I think he also changed "She just smiled and laughed at me/And took her blues back again" to "She just smiled and laughed at me/And took her rules back again".
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Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
if they change enough does it cease to become a cover? then they don't need to pay him at all!
If they never got permission to record the song that's one thing. But this is pretty tacky if it's over the lyric
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Bad move. If its because of the bad economy he should've befriended Vedder instead of choosing to go to war with him. In the last few years, it seems like Eddie's done a fair amount to help out his friends. Tomas Young, Jerry Hannan, Tom Tomorrow. Suing someone always looks bad.
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Riot Actor 25 wrote:
Bad move. If its because of the bad economy he should've befriended Vedder instead of choosing to go to war with him. In the last few years, it seems like Eddie's done a fair amount to help out his friends. Tomas Young, Jerry Hannan, Tom Tomorrow. Suing someone always looks bad.
that's what i told the band when they were all gung ho about issuing c+d's, but would they listen? no way.
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Last edited by dkfan9 on Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
If he gave permission for Vedder to cover his song, then he has no say as to any lyric changes that may be made. As long as Vedder didn't keep the guys name out of the credits and try to take the song as his own, the guy really doesn't have a case.
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