Paramore + Olivia Rodrigo Were in Talks Before ‘Good 4 U’ Was Released – Report
One current and one former member of Paramore now share songwriting credit with Olivia Rodrigo on her song "Good 4 U" after the pair were retroactively acknowledged as co-writers of the hit. Some listeners had publicly drawn parallels between it and a Paramore tune for months prior. Now, a report claims that camps for the rock band and the pop star communicated with each other before Rodrigo's song emerged.
Last month, Paramore singer Hayley Williams and the band's former guitarist Josh Farro suddenly appeared among the credits of the Rodrigo smash as co-writers alongside the pop star and producer Dan Nigro. When "Good 4 U" premiered in May, Williams and Farro weren't listed as co-writers in credits obtained by Billboard.
While their addition might have seemed reactionary on the face of it, Variety reported on Wednesday (Sept. 1) that the parties for Rodrigo and Paramore were in contact before "Good 4 U" was released, and that the credit is "actually [for] an interpolation — which is essentially an element of a previously recorded song re-recorded and incorporated into a new song."
Williams first hipped her social media followers to the credit change on Aug. 24 when she re-shared an Instagram Story from Paramore's publisher, Warner Chappell Music. The company's post celebrated a music chart feat for "Good 4 U" and gave a "shoutout" to "writers Hayley Williams and Joshua Farro."
So how much are the Paramore contributors now making in "Good 4 U" royalties? That's anybody's guess.
"It's hard to give an exact value, because there really are a lot of variables," an unnamed music executive opined to Variety. "But in public performance [alone], it's a seven-figure number ranging from $1.2 million to probably north of $2 million on the amount of spins, how long it's been on the radio … how many formats."
Over the last several months, rumors swirled that Rodrigo would have to fork over a portion of "Good 4 U" publishing rights after some fans noted similarities between her song and Paramore's 2007 tune "Misery Business." While we don't know the details to what, if any, agreement arose, the Paramore writers now comprise half the credited "Good 4 U" writing team, as evidenced in an ASCAP repertory entry for the hit.
In the same month that "Good 4 U" was released, EW underscored its resemblance to "Misery Business" and Vulture wrote that Rodrigo had "gone fully pop-punk; the angry track is evocative of Hayley Williams."
Along with other artists, Rodrigo has helped bring rock-type sounds back to the Top 40. In June, Courtney Love accused Rodrigo of stealing the art concept used by Love's former band Hole on their album Live Through This for Rodrigo's Sour Prom, a concert film tied to Sour, her album containing "Good 4 U."
Compare the Olivia Rodrigo and Paramore songs below.