Q: hey, so i just heard this song on the radio, i thought it was a cover of toto's africa- it was a pretty shitty cover, but i thought someone was doing a cover of it. then when i looked it up later i found out that it was a jason derulo track called "fight for you" and it doesn't mention toto or africa anywhere on it. yet it has the same chords and even the same lyrics! it occasionally cut in some terrible pop verses but man it is actually a rip off and i wanted your thoughts on this
A: it is a derivative of Africa. it is authorized, and the songwriters of Africa are properly credited and paid. popular songs very often are either covers, samples, or derivatives of previous popular songs, and most of the time the original writers are credited and paid. one of the most famous examples is "surfin USA" by the beach boys, which has the entire same melody as "sweet 16" by chuck berry, who is credited and paid for "surfin USA" also. another famous example is Gansta's Paradise, which originally a Stevie Wonder song, who is credited and paid for Gangsta's Paradise as well. Another more recent example is Sam Smith's "stay with me" which was found to have nearly the same melody as "won't back down" by Tom Petty, and after an out-of-court settlement, tom petty is now credited and paid. there are hundreds more examples, and this has been common in popular music for many generations.