Yahoo Movies Gaga and Ronson respond to claim they 'stole' A Star Is Born song
Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson have had huge success with their song 'Shallow' from A Star is Born, but not all of the attention it has received has been good.
A songwriter by the name of Steve Ronsen is threatening to file a lawsuit against the duo, claiming the song has 'stolen' his work. He says 'Shallow' has specifically used a three-note progression sequence from his song 'Almost' without credit or permission.
In a statement to ET Online, he says: "It was brought to my attention by many people that the 'Shallow' song sounds like mine. I did not seek this out, I haven't even seen the movie (I heard it's pretty good). I admire Lady Gaga and I just want to get to the bottom of this.
Related: Here's why the Beyoncé version of A Star is Born didn't happen
"There are other writers that wrote the 'Shallow' song, including Mark Ronson. I have secured a musicologist who also agrees that the songs are similar. I am simply going about this how anyone else would investigate any possible infringement."
Lady Gaga's lawyer has now issued a counter-statement denying the claims and hitting out at the songwriter (and his lawyer Mark D Shirian) for making them in the first place.
It reads: "Mr Ronsen and his lawyer are trying to make easy money off the back of a successful artist. It is shameful and wrong.
"I applaud Lady Gaga for having the courage and integrity to stand up on behalf of successful artists who find themselves on the receiving end of opportunistic claims such as this. Should Mr Shirian proceed with the case, Lady Gaga will fight it vigorously and will prevail.
"We provided Mr. Shirian a lengthy letter with the findings of multiple leading musicologists, each of whom found no actionable similarities between the two songs. Even Shirian's own musicologist acknowledged the generic three note progression is present in many other songs predating his client's song."
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