A blurred line has been crossed

Melody pilfering may be on the up, but plenty of honest moolah is still being made on Bandcamp

The latest dispatch from the pop courts is in. The jury in the US district court decided that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had cogged from Marvin Gaye’s Got To Give It Up when they wrote “Blurred Lines”.

Now, Thicke and Williams need to pony up around $7.4 million to Gaye’s estate in retribution. It’s not like the pair will be destitute as a result, as the song has been a massive cash cow. Evidence presented in court showed that Blurred Lines has earned more than $23 million for the writers, record label and publishers.

It’s not the only pop case making money for legal eagles of late. Sam Smith recently rearranged the songwriting credits for Stay With Me to take into account that it sounds uncannily like Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down. Then, there’s Hall & Oates suing cereal makers Early Bird Foods over their Haulin’ Oats granola.

But thankfully, there is still money to be made from flogging your own music rather than suing someone else (or singing their song). Music hosting site Bandcamp announced this week that it has paid more than $100 million to artists since 2008. A lot of focus for digital music may be on Spotify and Apple, but it’s great to hear positive news from one of the less heralded companies aiming to help smaller bands make a living from their music.