Anybody ask Tracy Chapman how she feels? The more records sell the more money she makes, assuming she wrote the song, which I suppose she did.
People get annoyed about these things sometimes. Forget who the guy was (Otis Redding?) who first sang R.E.S.P.E.C.T., he’s quoted as saying Aretha Franklin “stole my song”, which in a way she did.
Don’t know how Bob Dylan feels about Jimi Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower”, but Hendrix’s version is vastly superior. I’ve also always thought Rod Stewart’s version of “Forever Young” (also Dylan’s) is definitive.
And Nina Simone was very annoyed about Eric Burdon and the Animal’s hit with “I’m Just a Soul Whose Intentions are Good” but it’s pretty perfect. And, tbh, that song makes more sense coming from a man. (No offense to Ms. Simone!)
These are ALL GREAT SONGS, those that wrote them and all who sang them deserve our appreciation. And the list could go on and on.
Vida brevis, Ars longa - Life is short, Art is long.
She congratulated him. She is the sole writer of the song, so she gets all the song writer and publisher's royalties from it, as she owns the rights to both.