INSPIRATION vs. IMITATION - CREATION vs. COPY

Let’s admit it — there is a very, very fine line between inspiration and copying.

It’s easy to blur that line. You might hear about someone’s idea or project, feel it resonate deeply, and find that you can’t shake it from your mind. And even if you don’t consciously intend to, you might end up “borrowing” the idea and convincing yourself that it was yours all along.

Then you create a project so similar — using the same concept, the same structure, even the same or very similar terminology (and colour choices for your advertising) — that it becomes painfully clear it was built on a borrowed foundation.

And if, on top of that, you claim you invented it, you step into very murky waters — both morally and legally.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” but when it happens to an artist, it often feels like the sincerest form of disrespect. And when someone gains professionally or financially from “borrowing” our ideas, it can feel like a violation — even an abuse.

If it happens because we trusted someone enough to share our ideas, only to have them “adopt” and present them as their own, it becomes a betrayal. Ask yourself: how would you feel if someone you trusted used your ideas for their own benefit while cutting you out completely ? Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes can be enlightening.

In whichever form, and for whatever reason — it hurts.

Even though someone copying our style, ideas, or projects doesn’t make us any less unique or creative, it is still a deeply unsettling experience, and it is absolutely not okay.

It is okay to be inspired. It is not okay to imitate and claim the work as your own invention without, at the very least, acknowledging the creator.

Inspiration and blatant copying are not the same. Inspiration respects the original work by crediting it, then builds upon it with new ideas and fresh creativity. Copying, on the other hand, disregards the originality of the source and claims the entire concept — including the initial idea — as one’s own.

So: don’t copy. And if someone’s idea or work inspires you, give them the credit they deserve. Every single time !

Ultimately, the difference between inspiration and imitation comes down to intent and mindfulness. Choose to be conscious of what has come before you, aware of what is happening around you, and thoughtful about what you intend to put into the world. Find your own voice — and the form that best expresses it.

And then, create your own ORIGINAL.

NOTE: Those who imitate us or borrow our ideas, whether intentionally or not, rarely endure. Imitation may capture the surface, but it can never replicate the substance that comes from genuine originality. When something isn’t rooted in authenticity, it eventually fades, lacking the depth and resilience that true creators possess. In the long run, what is copied cannot outlast what is real, because originality carries a spirit and vision that imitation simply can’t sustain.

© Alternative Approach to Music: Inspiring - Healing - Empowering, Xenia Elizabeth Zilli