Sam Smith rep says 'Stay With Me' Tom Petty resemblance was 'complete coincidence'

A rep for Sam Smith has confirmed that the singer has reached an agreement with Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne over his hit song 'Stay With Me'.

It had been reported that the two musicians, who teamed up for Petty's 1989 song 'I Won’t Back Down', have now been credited on 'Stay With Me' due to similarities.

A spokesperson for Smith has confirmed the news to Rolling Stone, saying that Petty and Lynne are now official co-writers of 'Stay With Me'.

However, they added that the resemblance between 'Stay With Me' and the chorus of 'I Won't Back Down' wasn't intentional.

They said: "Recently the publishers for the song 'I Won't Back Down', written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, contacted the publishers for 'Stay With Me,' written by Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips, about similarities heard in the melodies of the choruses of the two compositions.

"Not previously familiar with the 1989 Petty/Lynne song, the writers of 'Stay With Me' listened to 'I Won’t Back Down' and acknowledged the similarity. Although the likeness was a complete coincidence, all involved came to an immediate and amicable agreement in which Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are now credited as co-writers of 'Stay With Me' along with Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips."

Listen to the two songs below: