Tom Petty has spoken out about the Sam Smith “Stay With Me” royalty split. The musician posted the following statement to tom petty.com earlier today, a few days after it went public that in October he was quietly given royalties and a songwriting credit for Smith’s breakout hit, which sounds oddly familiar to his 1989 single, “Won’t Back Down”:
“About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam. All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement.
The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it. How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career.
Peace and love to all.”
Tom Petty.
So, that’s that.
In case you missed out on the news earlier — or have somehow managed to escape Smith’s hit, which has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide — here’s our quick overlay that pairs it up with Petty’s “Won’t Back Down”…