The contentious "Blurred Lines" trial resumed this week and the major talking point centered around the closely guarded secret of how much money each entity like Robin Thicke, Pharrell, T.I. and the labels profited from the sale of the song.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, accountants on both sides of the argument agreed on the statement that attributes $16,675,690 in profits to "Blurred Lines." This may seem like a lot now, but remember how big it was in 2013 and how inescapable the track was in commercials, TV promos and on the radio?
According to the testimony, the money split in the following ways. Robin Thicke took home $5,658,214, Pharrell pocketed $5,153,457 and T.I. only took home $704,774. The labels (Interscope, UMG Distribution and Star Trak) did not do so bad for themselves either as they took home the remaining sum, with an executive at Universal testifying that overhead on the creation of "Blurred Lines" accounted for $6.9 milion.
This seems fishy because in a previous interview, Thicke says that the song was done in a few hours. Unless Jesus did the mixing and mastering and the studio was adorned with diamonds for the night, that $6.9 million probably paid for something else besides the creation.
The trial pits the Marvin Gaye estate versus the creators of "Blurred Lines" in what the Gayes and their attorneys' believe is an unlawful copy of "Got To Give It Up."
In addition to going after profits from sales, the family is also targeting touring money, which they attribute at $11 million from the track. The trial is still in its infancy and there are a lot of other facts and testimonies left to be sorted out. Included in the lawsuit is the accusation that Thicke misappropriated a second song from Gaye, "After The Dance" for his own "Love After War." Expect the trail will continue for quite some time with this amount of money at stake.
