I have to admit that while I was listening to Blurred Lines when it was first released, I found myself singing Got To Give It Up to the track. This was before the plagiarism controversy broke out. As a songwriter myself, I just chalked it up to these young artists being influenced by the late great Marvin Gaye.
I like what Bobby Owsinsky had to say in Forbes: "We’re all influenced by the art and/or craft that we love, and that influence seeps into our every creation whether we like it or not. Sometimes in music it’s totally obvious (the famous George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” vs. “He’s So Fine” by The Chiffons lawsuit), and other times its less so (Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” vs. Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”), but with only 12 notes and a limited number of chord progressions that are pleasing to the Western ear, one might think that it’s surprising that there aren’t more lawsuits for copyright infringement than there already are."
According to Ari Herstand, there are 22 songs that sound MORE similar than Blurred Lines and Got To Give It Up. He also mentions George Harrison vs. The Chiffons and Sam Smith vs. Tom Petty, along with 20 others. Click here to see the full list.
Thicke and Williams are apparently not going down without a fight and plan to appeal the court's decision according to Pitchfork.com. Their attorney, Howard E. King, had this to say: "We owe it to songwriters around the world to make sure this verdict doesn't stand,” King said. "We are going to exercise every post-trial remedy we have to make sure this verdict does not stand. ... Just because eight people think two songs are similar doesn't mean they are. I think this is a horrible decision that is going to affect whether or not record labels provide the necessary funds for new music to be created."
According to Time Magazine, "Robin Thicke's legal defeat could have a chilling effect on Music." Time goes on to say "It’s easy to see the judgment as a worrisome sign that authorship in music is about to get a lot more narrowly defined."
Twitter was also buzzing about the ruling with some colorful comments ranging from support for Thicke and Williams that the ruling would set a terrible precedent for the music business to others feeling that the musicians had got everything they deserved. My favorite twitter comment was: "Blurred Lines should have paid us all 7 million for having to endure it for a whole year."
I think that the songs are so obviously similar that Thicke and Williams should have gotten permission to 'cover' Got To Give It Up. What do you think?
