Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Robin Thicke & Pharrell vs. The Gaye Estate: The Verdict

Hey there.

You know "Blurred Lines", the 2013 Song of the Summer?
You know "Got to Give It Up" by Marvin Gaye, one of the biggest and best R&B songs of all time?

Well, the Gaye family believes there is a connection between the two, and according to a California court judge, so does a jury. And because of this, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams have to pay the family $7.4 million.

The family believes that "Blurred Lines" samples "GTGIU", and went so far as to sue for the sample, and take then to court for it. Yesterday, a court jury decided that the hit Thicke song has sampled the iconic Gaye track.

Sampling isn't new! It's been a part of music since its very start of existence. Every element, every melody, every riff, twang, vocal: it has been a part of music for decades, even centuries. So even if they took even the biggest pieces of the song, you all can't act like you don't know that people can and will sample other people's music for their own.
The fact that the family is treating this as if the family name is tarnished the world is ending around them, then they're delusional and a bunch cry-baby drama queens. (Especially the older daughter, who cried on the stand, but I'll get to that later)

To me, I think these songs don't sound exactly the same. They do sound similar, as do many other songs with similar bets and melodies, and other than brutal word of mouth, except in some famous cases, nothing legal happened.

The Gaye children sounded like a bunch of whiny babies on stand, like their toys were taken away when their rooms weren't cleaned. Especially Nona, who cried on stand. Lady, please! I know your father's music is important you and the rest of the family, I definitely understand that. But if you're crying on the stand to prove a song is sampled, then you look like a frickin' baby! It's just a song.

While $7.4 million is a lot of money, it's just a cake-walk for these guys to pay up, get the exchange over with and move on. I do see that happening. I also see them appealing the decision, and proving to them that sometimes, sampling music is a part of music in general, and that

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