newsmakers

newsmakers

Songs by Bennett, Estefan being added to Recording Registry

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Songs performed by Tony Bennett, Gloria Estefan and Run-DMC are among 25 recordings being added to the National Recording Registry.

The Library of Congress announced Wednesday the list of titles being honored for their cultural and historic importance to the American soundscape.

Bennett’s standard “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” is being added, along with “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” by Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, Run-DMC’s “Raising Hell” album and the soundtrack to “The Sound of Music.”

Court sides with Marvin Gaye family in ‘Blurred Lines’ fight

LOS ANGELES

A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld a copyright infringement verdict against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over the 2013 hit song “Blurred Lines.”

In a split decision from a three-judge panel, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals awarded $5.3 million to the family of Marvin Gaye, who said “Blurred Lines” is illegally copied from the late soul singer’s “Got to Give it Up.”

Two judges from the panel of three rejected the defense’s request to overturn a jury verdict or order a new trial, saying that Gaye’s copyright on the song is entitled to broad protection.

They accepted a trial court judge’s instructing the jury to decide based only on the sheet music to the songs, and not the recordings.

Dissenting Judge Jacqueline Nguyen offered a harsh dissent, saying that the songs resemble each other only in style not substance and that the decision was detrimental to the future of artists and creativity.

Associated Press