Originally Posted by: Jerry DylanMaybe Led Zep did steal alot of blues songs and things, but they also made a lot of people find out about the blues.

That is just a way to "justify" stealing the songs. Sure Zep is huge now and they inspired many bands, but back when they started, they were just a normal band that used songs from another band. It's easy to look at a huge band that everyone loves and say "Well I guess it's OK now considering how big this band is".

What about bands starting up now that are stealing songs? Do we give them the same leniency as Zep because they could "potentially" be big later? What if that same band, 20 years from now is HUGE and became the next big thing? Would be easier to look the other way then and justify it, but the fact still remains that the song was created and taken when the band wasn't big.

Kind of goes along with the idea that celebrities shouldn't receive any special treatment compared to everyone else. Can't be OK for Zep to steal a song, but not alright for a less known band to. I hold to the idea of giving credit where credit is due like some people have mentioned already. Sure you can take songs and use them. Music is all about just making anything that people can like (including yourself), but if you use someones idea knowingly, just acknowledge it.