Robin Thicke owes millions for plagiarism Marvin Gaye

blacbird · Mar 11, 2015

So, how does this case affect derivative musicians?

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...ripped-off-marvin-gaye-song-in-blurred-lines/

In particular, how about Kid Rock's big hit "All Summer Long", which nods explicitly to Lynyrd Skynyard's "Sweet Home Alabama", but also is an obvious ripoff of the major instrumental music of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", so much so that when you first hear it coming on, you can't really tell which song is about to commence. Maybe he obtained permissions, but at least in the case of Zevon, something makes me doubt it.

George Harrison got successfully sued decades ago over the issue of "My Sweet Lord" essentially copying the music to the early sixties hit "He's My Guy", by the Chiffons. The Australian group Men at Work got successfully sued for their hit "The Land Down Under" containing a short riff from the still copyright-protected ditty "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree".

caw

ShaunHorton · Mar 11, 2015

I think it doesn't really mean anything. The fact that the precedent had already been set means musicians should be aware of, and prepared for, any repercussions they may have for using specific riffs from other songs.

Personally, I'm with the group that thinks "Blurred Lines" is a god-awful song anyway and I'm glad he's getting hit for it.

BenPanced · Mar 11, 2015

blacbird said:
George Harrison got successfully sued decades ago over the issue of "My Sweet Lord" essentially copying the music to the early sixties hit "He's My Guy", by the Chiffons.

It was He's So Fine.

And let's ask Rob Van Winkle, a.k.a Vanilla Ice how well his defense worked when he was sued over lifting the bass line from Under Pressure and pasting it wholesale into Ice Ice Baby:

*crickets*

Yup. His claim was they added an extra note, so rather something like boom-tikka-boom-boom, it was boom-tikka-boom-boom-boom, which totes made it new and different and original, but nobody believed it.

Osulagh · Mar 11, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziz9HW2ZmmY

People are making a much larger deal out of this because Blurred Lines is already controversial and it has notable singers/producers behind it.

What they did was copy the melody, the beat of the song, without referencing that it was somewhat of a cover. And yes, I believe that the decision that they being found guilty of plagiarism is correct--they didn't respect copyright. But the media is just blowing this out of proportion, like they always do.

Personally, I think the song is a good song to modern pop standards.

amergina · Mar 11, 2015

Ice Ice Baby.

So many years, that would come on the radio and I'd think "YAY Under Pressure!"

Alas, no.

But... Vanilla Ice did pay Bowie and Queen and give them credit eventually.

Chumplet · Mar 11, 2015

I think the lines are definitely blurred in this case. I mean, aren't there a finite number arrangements of notes that exist, just like tropes in literature? Where do you set the limit? Five notes? Ten? A certain beat?

atombaby · Mar 11, 2015

Jimmy Page ripped off loads of blues riffs, Beach Boys, Coldplay, Gaga, the list goes on. Tributes are one thing, but when credit isn't given where credit is due, that's where it angers me to no end. Especially when fans are duped. Madonna ripped off many riffs but I believe she gave credit to the proper artists in her albums. I'm not 100% sure about that though.

I'm glad when Ice Ice Baby was exposed, and this latest exposure makes me glad as well. Marvin Gaye was brilliant and a beautiful singer and writer.

Copying other art forms is fine when you're an amateur and doing it for practice. But never acceptable when it comes to being a professional.

Chumplet · Mar 11, 2015

Obtaining permissions is definitely a case with most of those eerily familiar riffs, but if the permission wasn't obtained, we don't hear about it until we hear about it.

blacbird · Mar 11, 2015

BenPanced said:
It was He's So Fine.

I stand corrected. Well . . . sit, actually. But you is right.

caw

Aggy B. · Mar 11, 2015

Sam Smith also owes money to Tom Petty for lifting the melody of "Stay With Me" from "I Won't Back Down".

There are a number of issues at stake including the extent of the musical reference and whether or not credit and/or royalties are being given for the work.

Smith agreed to pay royalties and the song credits now list Petty and the others who compose the original melody for "I Won't Back Down".

Thicke's response was less gracious which is likely one reason why the judgement against him was so steep. (Plus the controversial nature of the song, etc.)

Thewitt · Mar 11, 2015

I love the "I was too high to know what I was doing" defense....

BenPanced · Mar 11, 2015

atombaby said:
Madonna ripped off many riffs but I believe she gave credit to the proper artists in her albums. I'm not 100% sure about that though.

She asked Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA for permission to use a sample of ABBA's Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! in her song Hung Up. Lucky for her, they liked the track.

And Weird Al Yankovic is also famous for asking permission when he does a parody. Funny. He's been turned down by Jimmy Page to do a Led Zepplin polka medley. Funny, considering that pesky lawsuit he plagiarized the guitar line in Stairway to Heaven.

atombaby · Mar 11, 2015

BenPanced said:
She asked Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA for permission to use a sample of ABBA's Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! in her song Hung Up. Lucky for her, they liked the track.

And Weird Al Yankovic is also famous for asking permission when he does a parody. Funny. He's been turned down by Jimmy Page to do a Led Zepplin polka medley. Funny, considering that pesky lawsuit he plagiarized the guitar line in Stairway to Heaven.

I just read somewhere that there are many other songs Madonna ripped from. Ironically, Madonna fans get livid when other artists rip Madonna's melodies.

Did Gaga ever get any flack for her obvious "Alejandro" rip-off from Ace of Base's "Don't Turn Around?" Or Fergie's copycat melody of "Supersonic?" So much modern music gets under my skin. No originality, just one big money-making machine.

Zep in polka? Now that I would've liked to hear!

ps. ABC Song, Bah Bah Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star... did I miss any? Was this before copyright days?

Chris P · Mar 11, 2015

I still get a kick out of John Fogerty getting sued for sounding too much like John Fogerty.

benbradley · Mar 11, 2015

When I first heard the charget that it's a ripoff of "Got To Give It Up" I thought about the only thing the same is the beat and tempo. Now that I heard them both in that video, I could add that they both have staccato bass notes, but I still don't hear where the melody was taken.

Another big-name copyright case not mentioned is the Ghostbusters theme song vs. "I Want A New Drug:"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_(song)#Background

BenPanced said:
She asked Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA for permission to use a sample of ABBA's Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! in her song Hung Up. Lucky for her, they liked the track.

And Weird Al Yankovic is also famous for asking permission when he does a parody. Funny. He's been turned down by Jimmy Page to do a Led Zepplin polka medley. Funny, considering that pesky lawsuit he plagiarized the guitar line in Stairway to Heaven.

Does the intro to this 1960s hit sound familiar? IMHO, the Randy California song sounds closer to this than it does to Stairway To Heaven.

onesecondglance · Mar 12, 2015

The Madonna and Kid Rock examples are sampling, which is distinct. Under Pressure/Ice Ice Baby is a better example, and that clearly is copying.

Yes, Blurred Lines is (1) derivative (2) lazy (3) a pastiche (4) nowhere near the quality of the Marvin Gaye song, but I do not hear enough similarity to say it's plagiarism.

A "feel" cannot be copyrighted.

chompers · Mar 12, 2015

I like Blurred Lines. It's not quality music, but it's nice and fun. Makes me think of Kidd Kraddick though every time I hear this song, as it was the song that was playing when I found out about Kidd's death.

And Robin Thicke looks like an overgrown spoiled child. But my God, his eyes are beautiful. And he looks so much like his daddy.

Kylabelle · Mar 12, 2015

I had no idea "Kookaburra" was under copyright. I grew up singing that. Haven't thought of it in years! "Laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra, gay your life must be." Catchy tune!

Sage · Mar 12, 2015

Yesterday the radio station that was on in the airport bus I was in played Blurred Lines followed by Marvin Gaye's song after the report about the case. If you listen to pop, like I do, you couldn't escape Blurred Lines in 2013, and on top of that, I have Word Crimes memorized. I could not hear what was copied in the Marvin Gaye song. I heard that the instruments sounded the same, but not the copied notes that supposedly take place. There are plenty of problems with Blurred Lines, but I'm not hearing this one.

Hapax Legomenon · Mar 12, 2015

I find this to be ridiculous too. The songs sound nothing alike. This is literally why I have not done any composing -- I'm afraid what I make will be too similar to stuff that already exists without intending to. While accidental plagarism is hard to do with writing, it seems very easy to do with music.

KTC · Mar 12, 2015

The first time I ever heard blurred lines, my first reaction was that Thicke sickened me. He's a fucking pig. My second reaction was HE STOLE FROM MARVIN GAYE, the fucking pig.

It's insane how close they are. I actually later heard them played on top of each other. Once you do that, you'll see the crime.

KTC · Mar 12, 2015

Hapax Legomenon said:
I find this to be ridiculous too. The songs sound nothing alike.

The beats are ridonkulously the same. I worked in a record store when Got to Give it Up came out. I heard it a gazillion times. No...more than that. It is in my DNA. The very first time I heard that excruciating misogynistic blasphemy that Thicke tried to pawn off as a song, I cried foul. It's to a tee.

Gilroy Cullen · Mar 12, 2015

Actually, I wonder if Weird Al now has to go back and get permission from Marvin Gaye (or if he already did) for Word Crimes...

Hapax Legomenon · Mar 12, 2015

KTC said:
The beats are ridonkulously the same. I worked in a record store when Got to Give it Up came out. I heard it a gazillion times. No...more than that. It is in my DNA. The very first time I heard that excruciating misogynistic blasphemy that Thicke tried to pawn off as a song, I cried foul. It's to a tee.

Kind of seems like if we are going to go by a "beat," well tons of songs have similar beats. Or are some beats public domain, and Thicke made the mistake of using one that was still under copyright?

KTC · Mar 12, 2015

Fact is, in a court of law he was proven to have stolen something. I don't care about anything else. He got what he deserved.

Robin Thicke owes millions for plagiarism Marvin Gaye

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