"Blurred Lines" was it Plagiarism?

21khz: The Art of Money In Music

Paul Resnikoff - Founder, Digital Music News Season 2/ Episode 5

The second season finale of the original Star Trek back in 1969 was an odd episode. You will see where I am going with this in a moment.....

Yes, Kirk and Spock are in the top of the show, Kirk and Spock are at the close of the show, but the meat of the show, the entire episode, is taken up with the story of some guy named - "Gary Seven." Gary Seven is a human who, as it turns out, was kidnapped by aliens and sent back to earth to protect us from... whatever, that's not the point...

The point is (and was), Gene Roddenberry was using one show - Star Trek, to promote another show, in this case, a show about some guy named - Gary Seven. (In the end the show, something of a Doctor Who Ripoff, never got picked up and the whole affair is now nothing more than a fantastic bit of a Star Trek Trivia... but, again, that's not the point.)

So with all that in mind you will notice that Jeff and I are in the top of today's show, we are in the close of the close of today's show, but the meat of the episode, most of this show is taken up by a guy named Paul Resnikoff.

Paul Resnikoff is no Gary Seven. Paul created and runs - Digital Music News (www.digitalmusicnews.com), the most comprehensive and up to date site on the current state of Digital Music.

"Digital Music News is the information authority for music industry and technology executives."

We’re a highly influential source of news and industry analysis for millions of readers worldwide. Our audience is comprised of highly-targeted decision-makers from every segment of the business, including recordings, publishing, streaming, live concerts, talent development, venture capital, and broader tech.

Digital Music News

Gary Seven Paul also happens to run a podcast of the same name, and if you like 21Khz, you'll love the Digital Music News podcast.

This particular episode we're sharing focuses on the lawsuit surrounding, "Blurred Lines." That was the 2013 Robin Thicke/ Pharrell Williams song that, because of accusations of copyright infringement by the Marvin Gaye Estate, ended up in some five years of litigation. The central issue in that case, Who wrote the song? Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams or Marvin Gaye?

It's one of those stories that hits the sweet spot for music, and business and copyright.

PLUS...

Come back in a few weeks; we'll have our take on the "Blurred Lines" case, we'll have an interview with Judith Finell. Judith was the world-renowned musicologist with the unenviable assignment of having to convince a jury that, the music they were hearing, didn't just sound like something Marvin Gaye might have written. It was a piece of music indeed written by Marvin Gaye.