Who owns the rights to 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' by The Verve?

The song's rights have had a convoluted history. The Verve sampled a 1965 orchestral version of the Rolling Stones' 'The Last Time', arranged by Andrew Loog Oldham. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards took 100% of the writing credit and royalties in 1997. In 2019, they returned the songwriting credits to Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, who now shares a co-writing credit.

Why did the Rolling Stones take the rights to 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'?

The Verve had licensed a sample from ABKCO Records (who controlled the Stones' 1960s catalogue) for a 'small' portion of the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra recording of 'The Last Time'. After the song became a global hit, ABKCO's Allen Klein claimed the sample exceeded what was licensed and sued for all royalties and writing credits. Jagger and Richards were the named writers on the original and received the credits by default, though the extent to which they were personally driving the lawsuit has been disputed.

Who wrote the orchestral arrangement on 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'?

The orchestral string arrangement that forms the backbone of 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' was written by David Whitaker for a 1965 recording by the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra, a side project of the Rolling Stones' then-manager. Whitaker was a film and session composer who was never credited or compensated when the sample became one of the most recognisable hooks of the 1990s.

The Strings Nobody Wrote

Genre: orchestral pop, session arrangers, Britpop, 1960s, 1990s, music law

February 26, 2026

Four people touched one melody across 54 years. The industry found a way to wrong every single one of them.

Tracks

1. This May Be The Last Time — The Staple Singers
2. The Last Time - Mono — The Rolling Stones
3. Bitter Sweet Symphony — The Verve
4. The Drugs Don't Work — The Verve
5. La femme d'argent — Air
6. All I Need (feat. Beth Hirsch) — Air, Beth Hirsch
7. Teardrop — Massive Attack, Elizabeth Fraser
8. Unfinished Sympathy — Massive Attack, Shara Nelson
9. I'll Take You There — The Staple Singers

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