Sam Smith reflects on Stay With Me copyright settlement ahead of UK residency tour
The singer’s recent admission of regret over a 2015 songwriting credit dispute highlights the music industry’s preference for resolving intellectual property clashes without litigation, as Smith launches a major UK tour.
Sam Smith has expressed deep regret over failing to respond to a personal letter from the late Tom Petty during a 2015 songwriting credit dispute. The singer revealed this reflection during a recent appearance on Alchemy With Anthony Mason, looking back on the controversy surrounding their 2014 hit single.
Petty and Jeff Lynne received co-writing credits for the track in 2015 after publishers of the 1989 original flagged melodic similarities in the choruses. Smith’s representatives initially characterized the resemblance as a complete coincidence, though the parties swiftly reached an amicable financial settlement.
This historical case remains a notable example of how music publishers navigate intellectual property overlaps without resorting to costly litigation. Petty publicly stated at the time that the word lawsuit was never mentioned, characterizing the overlap as a musical accident and praising Smith’s team for their cooperative approach.
Smith maintained in the new interview that they had never heard the 1989 track before writing their breakthrough single in a London basement. The singer explained that, as a young artist focused on divas and girl pop, they lacked familiarity with Petty’s catalogue and initially reacted with frustration to his correspondence.
According to Smith, Petty wrote to them the night before the 2015 Grammy Awards, where the singer won four major prizes including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. Petty noted in the letter that there were only so many notes on the piano, a sentiment Smith now interprets as a kind attempt at reassurance rather than a confrontation.
Smith described their younger self as a sassy 22-year-old queer kid who failed to recognize the goodwill behind the message. The singer emphasized deep regret over never writing back to Petty, who died in October 2017 at the age of 66.
The retrospective commentary arrives as Smith mobilizes a significant commercial push in the UK market. The artist released their fifth studio album, Hazel Eyes, earlier this month, featuring preview singles My Guy, Oh Mother and When He’s Gone.
To support the new record, Smith will embark on the To Be Free UK residencies. The tour includes two shows at Manchester’s Albert Hall on September 3 and 4, followed by a run at the London Coliseum between September 8 and 19.
Smith recently announced an engagement to fashion designer Christian Cowan, noting that the relationship directly inspired the new album. The singer framed this personal milestone as a broader statement on public life, stating there is something radical about being queer and singing love songs in the current climate.
