Pharrell Takes the Stand in 'Blurred Lines' Trial
He told a jury who he was "channeling."
— -- Pharrell took the stand Wednesday and told a jury he “must have been channeling” the 1970s when he co-wrote the 2013 mega hit "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke.
Pharrell and Thicke, along with T.I. are being sued by the family of an icon of that 1970s music, Marvin Gaye, for allegedly ripping off Gaye’s 1977 hit, “Got to Give It Up.”
On the witness stand, Pharrell was asked if “Blurred Lines” “has the feel” of “Got to Give It Up.”
Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams Deny 'Blurred Lines' Copyright Infringement Claim
“Feel. Not infringement,” responded Pharrell.
Lawyers say that the case could hinge on that distinction of whether Pharrell and his co-creators were inspired by the songs of the 1970s rather than Gaye himself.
“If jurors believe he was not inspired by Marvin Gaye rather by the songs he heard in the 1970s growing up, they may have a chance of prevailing,” said Areva Martin, a Los Angeles-based attorney, who is not involved in the case.
When Thicke took the stand last week, he gave an impromptu concert in court, taking to a keyboard to perform a medley of famous songs to show how pop tunes often share similar chord progressions.
Pharrell, who said the song took him less than one hour to write, has earned over $5.1 million for "Blurred Lines." Testimony in court on Tuesday revealed that "Blurred Lines" has returned a profit of more than $16 million.
Thicke also took home over $5 million for the song, while Clifford Harris Jr. (aka, T.I.) , who is also featured on the song, earned around $700,000.
T.I. is scheduled to take the stand today before the case goes to the jury of five women and three men.
While on the stand Wednesday, Pharrell was presented stripped down snippets of the two songs – “Blurred Lines” and “Got To Give It Up” – played by a musicologist brought in by Gaye’s family.
“It sounds like you’re playing the same thing,” Pharrell said after listening to the snippets.
Jurors will hear the recording of “Blurred Lines,” but the judge is not allowing “Got To Give It Up” to be played in court. That’s because the Gaye family owns the copyright only to the sheet music composition. Universal owns the sound recording of Gaye’s tune.
In a lawsuit they filed in 2013, Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. defended themselves against reported accusations by Gaye's loved ones that the singers stole parts of "Got to Give It Up," for "Blurred Lines." However, in October, a judge sided with the Gaye family, ruling that their musicological experts had given enough evidence to allow the case to go to trial.
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