7 Reasons the 'Blurred Lines' Verdict Should Have Everyone Spooked

Robin Thcke and Pharrell's trial opened a Pandora's box.

Ain't That Peculiar? - Since a jury awarded the family of soul deity Marvin Gaye $7.4 million in the "Blurred Lines" copyright trial Wednesday (March 13), the surprising verdict has become a Rorschach test of sorts. If you believe that the song's producer Pharrell Williams and headlining vocalist Robin Thicke sneakily took essential musical elements of Gaye's 1977 dance classic "Got to Give It Up," you smiled when the cheating A-holes were forced to pay up. If you view the monetary verdict as get-back for all the times white artists have gotten away with blatantly stealing from African-American artistry you most likely pumped your fist in the air as you broke out into the Shmurda dance.Or maybe you think the decision was at best misguided, an opinion that New Statesman writer Rhodri Marsden shares with other journalists, songwriters and musicologists. "Let...

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Ain't That Peculiar? - Since a jury awarded the family of soul deity Marvin Gaye $7.4 million in the "Blurred Lines" copyright trial Wednesday (March 13), the surprising verdict has become a Rorschach test of sorts. If you believe that the song's producer Pharrell Williams and headlining vocalist Robin Thicke sneakily took essential musical elements of Gaye's 1977 dance classic "Got to Give It Up," you smiled when the cheating A-holes were forced to pay up. If you view the monetary verdict as get-back for all the times white artists have gotten away with blatantly stealing from African-American artistry you most likely pumped your fist in the air as you broke out into the Shmurda dance.Or maybe you think the decision was at best misguided, an opinion that New Statesman writer Rhodri Marsden shares with other journalists, songwriters and musicologists. "Let...

Inspiration Can Now Cost You Millions - For decades, musicians have relied on the free-flowing exchange of ideas to create some of the most indelible, influential work ever recorded. Whether it's the bedrock blues of Robert Johnson; the signature horn phrasings of Louis Armstrong; Billie Holiday's indelible vocal stylings; or James Brown's groundbreaking rhythmic structures; the Beatles' off-centered D and F chords; Sly Stone's hazy, atmospheric funk grooves; or Black Sabbath's hellish, industrial guitar innovations, you can find some trace of all of these sounds and more in the DNA of popular music.This is why the "Blurred Lines" verdict should send a chill up the spines of anyone that fancies themselves as a professional songwriter or just a everyday music fan. Before the Gaye family's unprecedented legal victory, such lawsuits were either tossed or sett...

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Inspiration Can Now Cost You Millions - For decades, musicians have relied on the free-flowing exchange of ideas to create some of the most indelible, influential work ever recorded. Whether it's the bedrock blues of Robert Johnson; the signature horn phrasings of Louis Armstrong; Billie Holiday's indelible vocal stylings; or James Brown's groundbreaking rhythmic structures; the Beatles' off-centered D and F chords; Sly Stone's hazy, atmospheric funk grooves; or Black Sabbath's hellish, industrial guitar innovations, you can find some trace of all of these sounds and more in the DNA of popular music.This is why the "Blurred Lines" verdict should send a chill up the spines of anyone that fancies themselves as a professional songwriter or just a everyday music fan. Before the Gaye family's unprecedented legal victory, such lawsuits were either tossed or sett...

The Feel of a Song Can Now Be Copyrighted - While some passionate critics of the ruling may come off as overly dramatic to onlookers who view the "Blurred Lines" verdict as more inside baseball, there is some potential fallout worth taking seriously. The Washington Post's Chris Richards broke down one game-changing sticking point in his Wednesday column when he wrote, "But while 'Blurred Lines' might lack imagination, Thicke and Williams ultimately only seem guilty of stealing a vibe. And if vibes are now considered intellectual property, let us swiftly prepare for every idiom of popular music to go crashing into juridical oblivion."Continues Richards, "Because music is a continuum of ungovernable hybridity, a dialogue between generations where the aesthetic inheritance gets handed down and passed around in every direction."This is the underlining fea...

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The Feel of a Song Can Now Be Copyrighted - While some passionate critics of the ruling may come off as overly dramatic to onlookers who view the "Blurred Lines" verdict as more inside baseball, there is some potential fallout worth taking seriously. The Washington Post's Chris Richards broke down one game-changing sticking point in his Wednesday column when he wrote, "But while 'Blurred Lines' might lack imagination, Thicke and Williams ultimately only seem guilty of stealing a vibe. And if vibes are now considered intellectual property, let us swiftly prepare for every idiom of popular music to go crashing into juridical oblivion."Continues Richards, "Because music is a continuum of ungovernable hybridity, a dialogue between generations where the aesthetic inheritance gets handed down and passed around in every direction."This is the underlining fea...

Pharrell Made Songwriting Seem Downright Shady - If by chance Robin Thicke and Pharrell come out on the losing end of an appeal, legal historians will be pointing to Williams's at times laughable testimony. The superproducer claimed that Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" played zero role in the creation of "Blurred Lines," a statement that drew many blank WTF stares. "I had Earl Sweatshirt in one room and Miley Cyrus in the other," he explained of the making of the Thicke track. The studio sessions with Cyrus, he claimed, took on a bit of bluegrass tone. "It was like blending this country sound with this up-tempo groove," he said of the finished product.Since the issue at hand was never really about influence, Pharrell, who admitted in court that he was the sole creator of "Blurred Lines," would have done his legal team a solid by copping...

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Pharrell Made Songwriting Seem Downright Shady - If by chance Robin Thicke and Pharrell come out on the losing end of an appeal, legal historians will be pointing to Williams's at times laughable testimony. The superproducer claimed that Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" played zero role in the creation of "Blurred Lines," a statement that drew many blank WTF stares. "I had Earl Sweatshirt in one room and Miley Cyrus in the other," he explained of the making of the Thicke track. The studio sessions with Cyrus, he claimed, took on a bit of bluegrass tone. "It was like blending this country sound with this up-tempo groove," he said of the finished product.Since the issue at hand was never really about influence, Pharrell, who admitted in court that he was the sole creator of "Blurred Lines," would have done his legal team a solid by copping...

If Thicke and Skateboard P Are Thieves, So Is Ray Charles - When you are the iconic, genius architect of rhythm and blues, who mastered big band jazz and conquered country music, there's not much in the way of praise that can fall in the realm of hyperbole. Simply put, towering singer, pianist and writer Ray Charles stands as one of the true giants of the American songbook; a blind visionary whose influential reach was so epic that nearly 50 years later his spirit was being channeled by fourth generation hip hop maverick Kanye West ("Gold Digger").Brother Ray also knew how to lift a groove and flip it into something truly exciting. And yet in this post-"Blurred Lines" era, Charles would be sweating on the courtroom stand. The same song that Kanye used as the foundation for his No. 1 pop workout (Jamie Foxx's interpolation of Charles's 1954 game-changer &qu...

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If Thicke and Skateboard P Are Thieves, So Is Ray Charles - When you are the iconic, genius architect of rhythm and blues, who mastered big band jazz and conquered country music, there's not much in the way of praise that can fall in the realm of hyperbole. Simply put, towering singer, pianist and writer Ray Charles stands as one of the true giants of the American songbook; a blind visionary whose influential reach was so epic that nearly 50 years later his spirit was being channeled by fourth generation hip hop maverick Kanye West ("Gold Digger").Brother Ray also knew how to lift a groove and flip it into something truly exciting. And yet in this post-"Blurred Lines" era, Charles would be sweating on the courtroom stand. The same song that Kanye used as the foundation for his No. 1 pop workout (Jamie Foxx's interpolation of Charles's 1954 game-changer &qu...

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...And Ditto for Just About ANY Other Artist - As The Roots' outspoken bandleader Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson noted during a spirited Facebook discussion following the "Blurred Lines" verdict, some of music's most beloved and best-selling acts are now fair game. "In that case does MJ owe Van Morrison 'Billie Jean' money for 'Moondance'?" he posted of the two tracks' striking melodic similarities. "Does Kravitz owe EWF money for 'It Ain't Over Til It's Over'? Does James Brown owe David Bowie money for 'Fame'? Does Rod Stewart owe Bobby Womack for 'Do You Think I'm Sexy'? No....make no mistake this is FEEL not actual melody. This is a key moment in songwriting history." You could say that.(Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

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...And Ditto for Just About ANY Other Artist - As The Roots' outspoken bandleader Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson noted during a spirited Facebook discussion following the "Blurred Lines" verdict, some of music's most beloved and best-selling acts are now fair game. "In that case does MJ owe Van Morrison 'Billie Jean' money for 'Moondance'?" he posted of the two tracks' striking melodic similarities. "Does Kravitz owe EWF money for 'It Ain't Over Til It's Over'? Does James Brown owe David Bowie money for 'Fame'? Does Rod Stewart owe Bobby Womack for 'Do You Think I'm Sexy'? No....make no mistake this is FEEL not actual melody. This is a key moment in songwriting history." You could say that.(Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

Copyright Lawyers Now Have a Wide Open Lane - Here's when you know things are officially out of control. Gaye's estate has hinted that it is looking into similarities between Pharrell Williams's smile-inducing mega sing-along "Happy" and the '60s Gaye number "Ain't That Peculiar." "I'm not going to lie. I do think they sound alike," said Marvin's daughter Nona. It should be noted that the Gaye family added that they have no intention on taking the matter to court. But you can already envision the legal representatives of every high profile music estate scouring through the catalogues of a who's who of hit makers. Somewhere, James Brown is smiling.(Photos from left: Steve Granitz/WireImage, Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage)

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Copyright Lawyers Now Have a Wide Open Lane - Here's when you know things are officially out of control. Gaye's estate has hinted that it is looking into similarities between Pharrell Williams's smile-inducing mega sing-along "Happy" and the '60s Gaye number "Ain't That Peculiar." "I'm not going to lie. I do think they sound alike," said Marvin's daughter Nona. It should be noted that the Gaye family added that they have no intention on taking the matter to court. But you can already envision the legal representatives of every high profile music estate scouring through the catalogues of a who's who of hit makers. Somewhere, James Brown is smiling.(Photos from left: Steve Granitz/WireImage, Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage)

Bruno Mars Should Be Worried - Yes, he's one of the more talented acts on the scene today. And his two-fisted band more than brings it on stage. But Bruno Mars has been known to unabashedly wear his inspirations on his sleeve. Of course "Locked Out of Heaven" is a brazen tribute to The Police's "Message in a Bottle." "Runaway" blends Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" and just about any Godfather of Soul song in existence. "Treasure" sounds like it was left on the cutting room floor of an early '80s Solar Records session. And Mars's ubiquitous No. 1 team-up with Mark Ronson ("Uptown Funk") is a Frankenstein-like number that stitches together everyone from Zapp and Lakeside to the more glossy, Prince-penned Ice Cream Castles era of The Time. Let's hope Mr. Mars is ready for the legal onslaught.(Photo: Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)

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Bruno Mars Should Be Worried - Yes, he's one of the more talented acts on the scene today. And his two-fisted band more than brings it on stage. But Bruno Mars has been known to unabashedly wear his inspirations on his sleeve. Of course "Locked Out of Heaven" is a brazen tribute to The Police's "Message in a Bottle." "Runaway" blends Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" and just about any Godfather of Soul song in existence. "Treasure" sounds like it was left on the cutting room floor of an early '80s Solar Records session. And Mars's ubiquitous No. 1 team-up with Mark Ronson ("Uptown Funk") is a Frankenstein-like number that stitches together everyone from Zapp and Lakeside to the more glossy, Prince-penned Ice Cream Castles era of The Time. Let's hope Mr. Mars is ready for the legal onslaught.(Photo: Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)