Pharrell, Robin & T.I. - All Lines Un-blurred

Messrs. Williams & Thicke must hand over $7.4M to Marvin Gaye's family. Some in the music industry seem surprised at the verdict while others believe this sets a negative precedent. I do not concur. To my listening, understanding and observation, Blurred Lines in its melodic format does sound a lot like Marvin Gaye's Gotta Give It Up. Please highlight and underline the word "sounds". Pardon me but I do not believe these notable Artists in the corporate persons of Williams & Thicke stole or even attempted to steal. I have absolutely no doubt that they had zero intention of placing their artistic gifts on a sandy foundation propped up by chip baton stilts precariously adorned with glassy exteriors.

Musicians must appreciate the listeners' viewpoint since majority invariably carries the vote in the Court of Public Opinion. Is this not how they sell their wares and make an excellent standard of living in the first instance? During the crafting phase, they comprehend that demand, supply, purchasing, marketing, advertising, PR and intangible property all come into play. In other words, Musicians & Posse must constantly update their skill sets and knowledge pertaining to the academics of Economics, Business and Law.

FAST REWIND. Rather than rush out of the arena after a magnificent concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, some of us stayed behind hoping for an autograph. We told the band members (who were clearing up) that we wanted to meet him. Probably 30 minutes later, he emerged wearing a white dressing robe. He cautiously carried a cute little boy in his arm. We squealed with joy and laughter...he was pleasant, gentle and thoughtful. There was not a hint of arrogance. He was warm, charming and welcoming. I asked for a drag of his cigarette, he obliged...I inhaled, exhaled and returned it...we talked, asked questions...the little boy was his Son...we wanted his autograph... yes, he would meet us around the back. Aaagh, security was not helpful.  I really didn't care because I had just met, spoken to and shared a cigarette with Mr. Marvin Gaye and nobody could ever take that away from me - NEVER, EVER!  I have attended a lot of concerts and met a lot of artists in my time but that particular experience in September 1980 was and still remains one of my most privileged youthful moments. FAST FORWARD. It was that same "little boy" Frankie (b.1975) who spoke of detecting musical similarities with his Dad's work on Network News in 2013.

Artistic influence is excellent, it is good to learn from the Masters and all those who have gone before us. Williams' view is that Blurred Lines is not a sample or imitation of Gaye's work, he was simply influenced and/or inspired by it. Be that as it may, the melody is very identical and since samples were not cleared and permission was not sought or given, the jury had no choice but to recognize and accept that there was indeed a breach - an infringement of copyright (intentional or unintentional is irrelevant). It is my view that Artists owe each other a creative and "fiduciary" duty of care. Even after the "possible" breach/"possible" infringement of copyright was brought to their attention (before Gaye's Family chose to sue), Williams & Thicke rejected their claims and opted to take chances in the legal arena because they believed victory would ultimately be theirs. WRONG, they should not have ventured there. Since Gaye's Family heard the similarities, is it remotely possible that this stance equally applies to the rest of the listening world? It would have been preferable to simply settle out of court by offering melodic credit to Marvin Gaye plus fair division of financial proceeds from the said intellectual property.

By the way, despite that fact that Mr. Clifford Harris aka T.I. was excluded from the law suit, he too is of the view that the Court's decision sets a horrible precedent. I beg to differ. Yes, absolutely, my ears are fine, thank you very much. Whether or not Williams, Thicke & Harris were influenced and/or inspired by Gaye's work, there is no escaping the fact that their Blurred Lines melodic format still sounds like Gotta Give It Up. This self-evident and self-explanatory truth has now been proven in a Court of Law. Apparently Lawyers for Williams & Thicke plan to appeal because "they wrote the song from their hearts, no other source". I believe them. Whatever, whichever, whomever, however - this is simply an unfortunate but very interesting co-incidence people. Williams, Thicke & Harris, I like you all and respect each of you as outstanding Artists but please proceed with cautious integrity. Guys, such is life...this is just one of those things...it's OK to let it go. Life is not blurry! You will all have very long and fruitful careers by God's Grace. Word to the wise, your Legal Teams have all been paid very handsomely, now please do the right thing and move on. It is a very bad idea to waste more of your valuable time on this matter. New music please!  

The morale of the tale? If you have composed a new piece of music...if someone tells you that it sounds like something they have heard before or like something that has been done before, it very probably and very likely has! Please do the research as it is always so much better to be safe before the fact rather than sorry afterwards. Wisdom is free, however the willful disposition of it can be extremely costly. We all live and learn. Age before beauty.

(c) JuicyChitChats 2015