Another famous copyright infringement case is far less clear-cut and far more troubling than the ‘My Sweet Lord’ example — the claim that Robin Thicke’s 2013 ‘Blurred Lines’ borrows too heavily from Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got to Give It Up.’
The backstory here is a strange one, and one with a lot of potential to shake up the music industry. That’s because ‘Blurred Lines’ didn’t copy the melody of the Gaye song or sample it directly, but rather mirrored the general mood and feel of the track.
The most famous case of musical copyright infringement is likely George Harrison’s lifting the melody of The Chiffon’s 1963 track ‘He’s So Fine’ for his biggest hit, 1970’s ‘My Sweet Lord.’
‘He’s So Fine’ was a major hit in its day, one Harrison admitted to knowing though he denied copying it on purpose. After a lengthy period of litigation, a judge declared “it is clear that ‘My Sweet Lord’ is the very same song as ‘He’s So Fine’ with different words” and found Harrison liable even if the theft was “subconsciously accomplished.”
A couple of weeks ago, a federal jury decided that Katy Perry copied the track ‘Joyful Noise’ by Christian rapper Flame when writing her hit ‘Dark Horse.’
The jury assessed damages of $2.78 million to be paid by Perry and ‘Dark Horse’s other songwriters.
Perry will certainly appeal, but the outcome of this lawsuit is scary for anybody who writes and records music for a living.
[Note: No Random Weekend post today… I wanted to get this one out there.]
One of the great benefits of popular music’s streaming revolution is how it has shortened the time and distance between artist and audience.
Rather than jumping through all the hoops (and cost) that come with a physical release, musicians can simply upload a song to social media 20 minutes after completion.
Here’s a track from the 2008 She & Him debut album Volume One. She & Him is a collaboration between actress/musical artist Zooey Deschanel and singer-songwriter M. Ward.
This song is a fine example of the album’s overall sound, indie folk with an old-fashioned sheen courtesy of Deschanel’s distinctive vocals. I liked the album a lot though I certainly don’t revisit it very often.
Meet Me In Montauk 