pix11.com – NEW YORK (PIX11) – Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams crossed legal lines, according to a California jury, which found their song “Blurred Lines” ripped of the Marvin Gaye Classic, “Got to Give it Up.”

Williams and Thicke were ordered to pay $7.4 million to Gaye’s estate. But the chart topper “Blurred Lines” follows in a tradition of hit songs that seem to be heavily inspired by past musicians.

Many said Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me,” sounded eerily similar to Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice, Baby,” reminded listeners of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure,” and Mark Ronson’s current single, “Uptown Funk,” has drawn comparisons the style of Prince.

PIX11 News recently visited the famous Quad Studios in Manhattan to ask music industry insider Alaska Gedeon if the “Blurred Lines” ruling would ruin the music industry, or if the next hit song might be stifled because an artist is afraid of a potential lawsuit.

The comparisons between “Blurred Lines” and “Got to Give it Up” were appropriate, Gedeon believes. “The first time I heard the record, I was kind of like, yo, that’s Marvin Gaye,” he said.

Gedeon believes artists often draw inspiration from classics, especially once they get focused in the recording studio. Typically, then record labels step in before music is released to make sure no copyrights are infringed upon. Gedeon says the producers of “Blurred Lines” may have been excited and let the song slip through the cracks, “it was a great record, everybody was just feeling it.”

“Once you hit play you forget everything when you have a great record.”

For future artists, Gedeon believes “Blurred Lines” will be a $7.4 million wakeup call, “at the end of the day you have to know where the music comes from,” he said.

Read more at pix11.com – NEW YORK (PIX11)