SONGWRITERS SINGING THE SUE ME, SUE YOU BLUES

Fear is playing a role in contemporary songwriting, the New York Times finds. In a survey of songwriters and lawyers, recent plagiarism cases hang over anyone sitting down at the piano to come up with a pop song.

Producer/writer/exec Busbee tells the Times, “I’m not going to stop writing songs. But it puts a massive damper on the process, if you’re concerned that you will be sued.”

Obviously the legal storm cloud rolled in after the “Blurred Lines” victory for the Marvin Gaye estate that has since affected writers such as Sam Smith and Marshmello, whose song with Anne-Marie, “Friends,” wound up with five names being added to credits after Eden Prince claimed it bore a similarity to his “Obvious.”

Ed Sheeran will be defending his “Thinking Out Loud” in court in a few months; he previously had to cough up a share of “Photograph” to British singer-songwriter Matt Cardle and "Shape of You" to the writers of TLC's "No Scrubs."

“There’s no question in my mind that there has been a chilling effect,” litigator Christine Lepera tells the Times. “People have thrown a lot of weight behind this—more weight than it deserves. Defendants may be more inclined not to put up a fight.”

Harvey Mason Jr. says he has taken a proactive approach. “I’ve had a couple experiences where I was writing something and a lawyer and musicologist said, ‘It sounds like this old song, it’s a very active estate, they’re going to come after you.’ I changed a few notes.”

Another litigator, Edwin F. McPherson, says the doors to the courthouse were busted open by the Robin Thicke-Pharrell hit. “In a normal world, I would say there is a very slim chance,” he said, referring to how he advises clients about filing plagiarism suits. “But now I have to add a caveat every time I advise a client: But ‘Blurred Lines.’”