If you’re a music fan and you’ve not been living under a rock for the past several weeks, you’ll know that a jury decision to award 7.3 million dollars to the Marvin Gaye estate was big news. Of course, this decision came thanks to a suit that alleged the Robin Thicke smash “Blurred Lines” (written by Pharrell Williams) copied and didn’t credit Gaye’s #1 smash “Got To Give It Up”. The Blerd Radio team (consisting of musicians Michael “The Packet Man” Cunningham & Michael “No Nicknames, Please” Parr, professor Dr. Z (whose syllabus has covered copyright law) and general layman Big Money) investigates in the latest podcast.
Some highlights from the podcast:
-If Thicke & Pharrell owe Marvin Gaye’s family seven million dollars, how much does EVERYONE owe Bo Diddley?
-Did the “Blurred Lines” team investigate the court proceedings because they sniffed out plans to sue by the Gaye clan?
-Pharrell’s long history of making songs that sound like other songs.
-Several examples of similar legal proceedings that have taken place in the past; most notably the case which saw a court declare that George Harrison “unconsciously” borrowed the melody of The Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine” for his “My Sweet Lord”. Ultimately, Harrison had the last laugh…
-Cunningham’s late arrival spawns a loosening of the discussion in which he manages to name check his old band Neighbours as well as several past episodes of Blerd Radio.
-In between the jokes, Cunningham also notes that this ruling was based on the sheet music alone; the jury was not allowed to hear the actual sound recordings.
-Does parody count in a case like this?
The ultimate discussion is: was the decision the jury made correct? (the panel unanimously answers “no”.) What repercussions will this ruling have in the future? And will the judgment be overturned on appeal?
Stay tuned…and check out the podcast by clicking below. You can also download it directly from Liberated Syndication or check us out on iTunes.