In early November, Olivia Rodrigo released her first Christmas song, inspired by “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses. But some fans online claim that she lifted some of it from Robbie Williams’ 2012 hit song “Candy”. Amid calls for copyright claims and writing credits, Williams sent a message to both the fans raising suspicions and to Rodrigo herself.
Essentially, Williams said he wasn’t “going after” Rodrigo about the similarities between their songs. That’s allegedly what people online were calling for, but Williams proved he had a different mindset. In his expletive-laden way, of course.
“I love Olivia Rodrigo,” he began his post on Instagram. “It sounds to me as though she may have accidentally stumbled across a musical echo of mine in one of her new songs. And do you know what? I couldn’t care less.”
He continued, “I don’t know whether there’s technically a publishing issue, a copyright issue, or no issue whatsoever. And I don’t want to know. I’m not going after her. Because I think at some point, some f***ing sanity has to prevail.”
Williams went on to explain that there’s so much music in the world that an artist will “inevitably find [themselves] somewhere somebody else has been.” That’s how songs with similar melodies, riffs, or chords come about.
“Genuine theft is genuine theft. Artists deserve to be protected,” he added. “But there’s a difference between protecting your work and treating every vaguely familiar sequence of notes as a winning lottery ticket.”
Robbie Williams Posts Sweary Insights into Music Copyright issues After Fans Claim Olivia Rodrigo Copied One of His Hits
The post continued, “We all stand on the shoulders of people who came before us. Sometimes consciously. Sometimes without even knowing it. If we keep punishing people for accidentally arriving somewhere somebody else has already been, eventually we’re going to frighten the creativity out of everyone.”
Robbie Williams concluded his response with a concise message for Olivia Rodrigo. “Olivia, if you’re reading this,” he wrote, “I think you’re f***ing brilliant.”
Elsewhere in the post, Williams addressed the fact that the same accusations have been levied against him in the past. “I’ve had plenty of people coming after me over the years because something I’ve released apparently sounds like something somebody else released,” he wrote. “And sometimes I listen and think, fair enough, I can hear that. Other times I think, are you having a f***ing laugh?”
The lengthy post provided some enlightening insight into how copyright infringement has turned into “ambulance chasing” in the music industry. Essentially, seeking out similarities between songs and filing an infringement lawsuit for writing credit and an easy royalty payout. Robbie Williams’ perspective echoes many others in that space, but the copyright infringement trials and accusations are often louder than those opinions.
However, Williams’ post had a bit of levity in it as well. He first explained that he’s been a fan of Olivia Rodrigo since her 2021 single “Brutal”. He wrote, “What a f***ing record. I wish I’d made it”, before adding, “Also, I can’t believe how much she swears on stage. And that’s coming from me.”
He noted that her penchant for swearing is making him “look like a Victorian schoolmistress.” Of course, Williams concluded his post by bringing that up again, writing, “Please stop swearing so much. It makes me feel like I have to keep up. And frankly, I’m already swearing much more than is necessary.”
Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images
The post ‘Olivia, If You’re Reading This’: Robbie Williams Has a NSFW Message for Olivia Rodrigo After Fans Accuse Her of Copying His Hit appeared first on VICE.
