Inline Sounds

John Seabrook’s The Case for and Against Ed Sheeran in The New Yorker is a great read. It explains why “The pop singer’s trial for copyright infringement of Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend’s ‘Lets Get It On’ highlights how hard it is to draw the property lines of pop.”

The article is also well presented. In an attempt to help the reader understand the sound references is a brilliant piece of design and engineering.

Disclaimer

The excerpt and sounds below are from The New Yorker. I needed them for this demo to replicate and validate my attempt.

Bennett explained that songwriters can be found liable for infringement of copyright even if the infringement was “subconsciously accomplished.” The phrase comes from the judge in a 1976 case, which found that George Harrison had unknowingly but unlawfully copied the Chiffons' 1963 song in his 1970 hit The two melodies are virtually identical.

Can a style or a vibe ever be infringed on, if not all that much in pop is really new? True, some homages to past styles are more brazen than others: Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson took eighties funk grooves from the Gap Band's and made them part of the Grammy-winning song without asking for permission. After the “Blurred Lines” verdict, a number of songwriters were added to the song's credits.

References