![Walmart 2014 Shareholders' Meeting Blurred Lines Suit](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/blurred-lines-thicke-pharrell-gaye.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
This article has been enhanced with interactive sound clips. To hear the sound clips, click the phrases highlighted in red.
A jury ruled Tuesday that Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke copied Marvin Gaye on their 2013 hit “Blurred Lines,” awarding the Gaye family nearly $7.4 million dollars in a verdict that could have a chilling effect on pop music.
You don’t have to be trained musician to spot the similarities between
soundFile=http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/blurred-lines-clip.mp3|
startPosition=1|
endPosition=5750|
content= “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s 1977 song
soundFile=http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/got-to-give-it-up-clip.mp3|
startPosition=1|
endPosition=7500|
content= “Got to Give It Up.” Listen for yourself: Both begin with skittering, light-on-their-feet drum beats punctuated by a few pulsing bass notes; both Gaye and Thicke begin the track showing off their falsettos, though Thicke drops the high notes shortly after. Williams argued that he had just been “channeling that feeling, that late-’70s feeling” (and you can’t copyright feelings), but Gaye’s copyright applied only to the sheet music version of the song—the jury didn’t even hear the official recording in court—which means the case came down to the actual nuts and bolts of the songwriting.
Historically, these kinds of legal disputes are settled by insiders who can analyze note-for-note the stretches of the song coming under scrutiny, the Los Angeles Times reports. But while the “Blurred Lines” case had plenty of expert testimony from musicologists and industry executives, they ultimately didn’t get to make the call—regular people did.
“It’s never been based on a jury’s opinion,” Irving Azoff, the chairman and CEO of Azaoff MSG Entertainment (which reps Williams) told the Los Angeles Times. “If we’re now entering into a gray area, that’s very scary.” By putting it to a jury, the debate was turned over to relatively untrained ears, which makes this ruling a particularly slippery slope for both songwriters and artists.
Read next: Here’s Exactly How Much Money ‘Blurred Lines’ Made
Artists Who Have Never Won A Grammy
![Photo of QUEEN Photo of QUEEN](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-11.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
!['60s R&B Quintet "Jackson 5" '60s R&B Quintet "Jackson 5"](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-05.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Spice Girls Spice Girls](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-16.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Pepsi Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show Pepsi Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-24.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest - Ottawa, ON RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest - Ottawa, ON](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-19.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Diana Ross Performs In Dublin Diana Ross Performs In Dublin](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-03.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Night 1 - Show 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Night 1 - Show](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-22.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Janis Joplin Janis Joplin](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-04.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Photo of Patti SMITH Photo of Patti SMITH](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-08.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
!["How The West Was Won" Tour - Irvine, CA "How The West Was Won" Tour - Irvine, CA](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-21.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Photo of Jimi HENDRIX Photo of Jimi HENDRIX](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-07.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Who The Who](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-17.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Photo of Jim MORRISON and DOORS Photo of Jim MORRISON and DOORS](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-10.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Led Zeppelin File Photos Led Zeppelin File Photos](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-06.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Photo of Flavor FLAV and Chuck D and PUBLIC ENEMY Photo of Flavor FLAV and Chuck D and PUBLIC ENEMY](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-09.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Journey Journey](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-13.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Kiss Kiss](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-14.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Photo of Run DMC Photo of Run DMC](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/run-dmc.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Ramones The Ramones](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Andre Agassi's 6th Grand Slam for Children Fundraiser - Show Andre Agassi's 6th Grand Slam for Children Fundraiser - Show](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-15.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-23.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Iggy Pop 1988 Iggy Pop 1988](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-18.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Kid Rock In Concert Kid Rock In Concert](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/no-grammy-20.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
- What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
- How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
- Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch Horizon
- Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
- The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Nolan Feeney at [email protected]