Tom Petty Afforded Royalties For Sam Smith’s ‘Stay With Me’

After months of speculation...

One of last year’s breakout singles, ‘Stay With Me’ helped spur Sam Smith on to global success.

Selling in excess of six million copies, the track’s success brought comparisons to previous work – notably Tom Petty’s 1989 single ‘Don’t Back Down’.

The Sun reports that Sam Smith & Co. have done the decent thing and afforded Tom Petty (together with co-songwriter Jeff Lynne) a full credit and a 12.5% royalty stake.

A source told the tabloid: “When Sam’s track was originally released, it was clear to a lot of musicians that there were notable similarities between the tracks […] After it was pointed out to Sam’s camp, they didn’t try to fight it and amicably dished out royalties. It wasn’t a deliberate thing, musicians are just inspired by other artists and Sam and his team were quick to hold up their hand when it was officially flagged.”

Check out 'I Won't Back Down' below.

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