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For 20 Years, The Rolling Stones Received Royalties for This Band’s Hit Song, Released Today in 1997

Dispute over a sample stripped The Verve of credit and royalties for their biggest hit song.

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On June 16, 1997, U.K. rock band The Verve released the single “Bitter Sweet Symphony”, which went on to hit No. 2 in the U.K. and No. 12 in the U.S. It became the band’s biggest hit and won several awards, including Songwriter of the Year for Richard Ashcroft at the 1998 Ivor Novello Awards.

But despite the song’s popularity and award-winning writing, The Verve wasn’t credited and didn’t receive royalties for more than 20 years. That’s because “Bitter Sweet Symphony” included a sample from the 1966 Rolling Stones track “The Last Time”.

They had permission from Decca Records to use the orchestral arrangement by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, which accompanied the Stones. But The Verve allegedly failed to get permission from Allen Klein, the Rolling Stones’ former manager and head of ABKCO Records. ABKCO owned the actual composition as opposed to just the recording, like Decca.

So, Klein filed a lawsuit against The Verve before “Bitter Sweet Symphony” was set to be released. Klein refused to sign off on........

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