Rick Rubin on Pharrell’s “Blurred Lines” Lawsuit: “A Feeling Is Not Something You Can Copyright”

In an extended sit-down conversation with Rick Rubin, Pharrell discusses the drawn-out litigation over his contentious 2013 hit song.
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Peter Bohler

In an outdoor area of the Shangri-La recording studios in Malibu, two titans of hip-hop—rapper/singer/producer/November GQ cover star Pharrell Williams and legendary producer Rick Rubin—recently linked up for an Epic Conversation about, well, everything. Rubin takes the role of interviewer, and Pharrell the interviewee, though they both weigh in to establish their mutual love for the Shazam app, as well as some of the ’80s hip-hop and hip-hop-adjacent tracks that will always stick with them, like LL Cool J's "Rock the Bells" (which Rubin co-wrote and produced).

Another point on which the duo agrees: Pharrell got a raw deal in the "Blurred Lines" copyright lawsuit he and co-defendant Robin Thicke lost. To recap: In 2013, Thicke and Pharrell released the mega-hit "Blurred Lines." (Pharrell recently told GQ he's now embarrassed by the song.) Soon afterward, the estate for Marvin Gaye alleged that "Blurred Lines" was actually a ripoff of Gaye's "Got to Give It Up," one of his most recognizable tunes. A lengthy court battle ensued, involving multiple appeals, and in December 2018 a final verdict was reached: Copyright had been breached, and so a $5 million settlement was paid to Gaye's estate.

Pharrell says the saga "hurt my feelings, because I would never take anything from anyone. It really set me back." He admits there was a shared "feeling" between his track and Gaye's, but that's as far as it went. To that Rubin adds, "A feeling is not something you can copyright."

Peter Bohler

Rubin also tells Pharrell that "Blurred Lines" is nothing like "Got to Give It Up," and that the case set an unfortunate precedent. "It's bad for music," Rubin says. "We've had an understanding of what a song is, and now, based on that one case, there's a question of what a song is. It's not what it used to be. In the past, it would be the chords, the melody, and the words. Your chords, your melody, and your words—none of them had anything to do with [Marvin Gaye's song]."

Watch the full video of Pharrell and Rick Rubin's Epic Conversation below:


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