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 kronk wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:

 kronk wrote:
My give a damn is nonexistent on this issue.

Good because everyone hates things inspired by other things and lawsuits like this will keep people from having inspiration. Soon no new music will exist, just copyright attorneys.

Now, now. I have my Best of Genesis album and my Best of Neil Diamond Album. I have all the music I'll ever need.

I think those particular artists are safe from having people try to copy them

Incorrect, you still need a Best of Queen album or two (the first two, that is).

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Disney has been playing fast and loose with copyright law, and winning because they take from the little guy, so I doubt it.

Yeah, Disney and lots of other major companies have done that. They pretty much authored the copyright laws to make the IP they held as valuable as possible.

But now we’re seeing copyright suits against creative acts with major studio backing. Blurred Lines was released under a label owned by Universal. But their business is also about releasing new music, and a new legal environment in which they face heavy courts costs and payouts from new releases is something I expect they will want to avoid.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Ahtman wrote:
Good because everyone hates things inspired by other things and lawsuits like this will keep people from having inspiration. Soon no new music will exist, just copyright attorneys.

Yep, this seems to be where things are headed. I can't see it lasting, to be honest, especially not with a little guy (Gaye's family) taking money off of a big guy (artist signed to a major label).

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

 Orlanth wrote:
Where did all these Pharrell and Robin Thicke rape undertones come from.

I can't say that I've ever listened to it long enough to find out

I liked Robin Thicke's My Life (got there from Despicable Me) and listen to it from time to time on YouTube, it often links to Blurred Lines and various Pharrell crap which autostarts afterwards, never completed Blurred Lines, it didnt impress at all and only like one or two Pharrell tracks.

However today on reading about this lawsuit for the first time I listen to the Marvin Gaye track as a comparison. I wont pass comment as to whether its infringing or not, but I will say that I though.
'Yep, I remember this, very good track' and added it to my playlist immediately.

Infringing, not infringing, thats hard to guess within the law, but as for which is a good track, that too me was easy.

 Slarg232 wrote:

 jreilly89 wrote:
I'm all for calling musicians on gakky copying, but this seems less about the music, and more about Gaye's family trying to sue for money.

I'm about 95% certain that all suing is based off of trying to get money

Yeah, but some are legitimately about justice and what not. Some are clearly money grab schemes, as seen here or the various other pop songs that don't get sued until they hit it big.

I listened to a few comparison videos on Youtube, and there some really striking similarities.
Here is a good comparison video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziz9HW2ZmmY

However, I was really surprised at some of the blatant rip-offs in music history, by HUGE hits!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWMvCXdsG4

I suppose the underlying beat sounds similar. Otherwise it's a bit of a stretch. It's entureky possible to accidentally copy something, sometimes people compose something they think it new but is actually being drawn up from their previous experience. Human memory can be like that, it doesn't mean something is being purposefully ripped off.

They do sound similar, but I'm not sure it's worth the sort of payout they got. It seems to me that copyright is used by the big guy to be anti-competitive by squeezing out smaller companies, and by the little guy as a money grab. That's not what it should be aiming to facilitate.

There are some similarities, but after listening to both songs I'm surprised they ruled in favor of Gaye's family. There are other songs (like some of the ones in the link Sasori posted) that sound way more alike than Marvin Gaye's and Pharrel's songs. I think Pharrel's song sounds like it could be inspired by Gaye's song, but that is hardly uncommon in the music world. The beat is somewhat similar, and both songs use cowbells (or samples of cowbells), but it is absolutely not the same. Loads of popular songs use similar beats. In addition, the melodies are completely different. I wouldn't consider Gaye's family winning this something that is good for art and creativity in general.

 Hordini wrote:
There are some similarities, but after listening to both songs I'm surprised they ruled in favor of Gaye's family. There are other songs (like some of the ones in the link Sasori posted) that sound way more alike than Marvin Gaye's and Pharrel's songs. I think Pharrel's song sounds like it could be inspired by Gaye's song, but that is hardly uncommon in the music world. The beat is somewhat similar, and both songs use cowbells (or samples of cowbells), but it is absolutely not the same. Loads of popular songs use similar beats. In addition, the melodies are completely different. I wouldn't consider Gaye's family winning this something that is good for art and creativity in general.

Vanilla Ice must be thanking his lucky stars he didn't get that judge

Oh he'd be fine. He certainly doesn't melt Under Pressure.

What makes this situation look worse, and like even more of a money grab, is how simply and amicably the Sam Smith/ Tom Petty "dispute" was resolved.

Looks like Gaye's family is gonna sue over "Happy" now too

I hope the defense lawyer asks Gaye's family to point out on the doll where Pharrell touched them.

 Alex C wrote:
Looks like Gaye's family is gonna sue over "Happy" now too

I hope the defense lawyer asks Gaye's family to point out on the doll where Pharrell touched them.

Oh FFS. What Song does that supposedly sound like (because I'm really not hearing the Blurred Lines similarities)?

 cincydooley wrote:

 Alex C wrote:
Looks like Gaye's family is gonna sue over "Happy" now too

I hope the defense lawyer asks Gaye's family to point out on the doll where Pharrell touched them.

Oh FFS. What Song does that supposedly sound like (because I'm really not hearing the Blurred Lines similarities)?

Apparently it sounds like "Ain't that Peculiar".

Again, I'm not hearing it...

Bran Dawri wrote:
Incorrect, you still need a Best of Queen album or two (the first two, that is).

Agreed.

This was a weird decision that can have a lasting effect on music. A lot of music (or any other media) has been inspired by past works. This was not a clear cut case of infringement: It was about a "vibe." How do you own something as vague as a vibe?

Coming soon to a appeals court near you, I am sure....

Not gonna listen to either one - I value my ears too much.

The Auld Grump

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

 Hordini wrote:
There are some similarities, but after listening to both songs I'm surprised they ruled in favor of Gaye's family. There are other songs (like some of the ones in the link Sasori posted) that sound way more alike than Marvin Gaye's and Pharrel's songs. I think Pharrel's song sounds like it could be inspired by Gaye's song, but that is hardly uncommon in the music world. The beat is somewhat similar, and both songs use cowbells (or samples of cowbells), but it is absolutely not the same. Loads of popular songs use similar beats. In addition, the melodies are completely different. I wouldn't consider Gaye's family winning this something that is good for art and creativity in general.

Vanilla Ice must be thanking his lucky stars he didn't get that judge

Hah, yeah! The difference of course, is that Vanilla Ice actually did sample another song, while Pharrell, as far as I can tell, did not.