The music industry like any other industry has a lot of problems. Lawsuits are filed every second with charges, most of them being copyright infringement. In this entry, I will discuss further the different liabilities that happen in the music industry.
Robin Thicke, Pharrell Lose Multi-Million Dollar ‘Blurred Lines’ Lawsuit
Apparently, Robin Thicke ripped off his ‘Blurred Lines’ hit from a Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit called “Got to Give It Up”. When Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I. wrote the song none of them had an idea that they were using someone else’s intellectual property. Unfortunately, the court rule in favor of the Gaye Estate and Thicke and Williams had to pay $7.3 million dollars in damages. That’s the highest amount ever paid in history over copyright infringement. I supposed that from now on Pharrell and Robin will be more careful. I think that the best thing is to listen to more music and always try to find permission if you’re trying to sample someone else’s music.
Source: Grow, K. (2015, March 10). Robin Thicke, Pharrell Lose Multi-Million Dollar 'Blurred Lines' Lawsuit. Retrieved October 31, 2015, from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/robin-thicke-and-pharrell-lose-blurred-lines-lawsuit-20150310
Jay-Z Wins Copyright Trial Over Egyptian “Big Pimpin’” Sample
Who has not heard the song “Big Pimpin’” big mega star Jay-Z? Allegedly he and Timbaland sample the song from an Egyptian hit called “Khosara Khosara” from composer Baligh Hamdi. Hamdi’s nephew Osama Fahmy filed the lawsuit implying that it was violating his moral rights. This is the perfect example of not knowing what you give up when you signed a contract. It is important to know all the implications within and without the contract. Unfortunately, when Fahmy signed the release of the “Khosara Khosara” song he did not understand the implications and now he is left out with no compensation of any sorts. My recommendation, in this case, is to read, read, read, and after reading research and understand what you are reading. We must ask questions and never leave without and answer. As for Jay-Z, he has 99 problems but copyright infringement ain’t one.
Source: Siegemund-Broka, A. (2015, October 21). Jay-Z Wins Copyright Trial Over Egyptian "Big Pimpin' " Sample. Retrieved October 31, 2015, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/jay-z-wins-copyright-trial-833665
Pandora Agrees to $90 Million Deal to End Pre-’72 Lawsuit by Major Labels
Looks like streaming has become more of a burden to major labels than a blessing. In this case, Pandora has been streaming music that is pre-copyright law, meaning before 1972. Unfortunately, there was no compensation when these songs were streamed. This violates a New York law that gives all the rights to the works done previous to 1982 to the label companies such as Sony, Universal Music, etc. To settle this conflict Pandora had to cut a $90 million deal. This teaches us that no matter how old the art is, we always have to pay its due respect to the authors. The copyright law does work for all even before it was in effect.
