How would you split nearly $17 million?
The ongoing trial to settle the copyright dispute between Marvin Gaye’s family and Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over 2013 smash hit ‘Blurred Lines’ continues to reveal things the defendants would probably prefer to keep quiet.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that both sides agreed with an accounting statement that attributes $16,675,690 in profits for the song.
Thicke received $5,658,214, Williams received $5,153,457 and T.I. got the short-end of the stick with just $704,774. The record companies — Interscope, UMG Distribution and Williams’ Star Trak — took home the remaining $5 million; a Universal Music executive testified that overhead cost $6.9 million.
This information usually only comes out in trials such as this one. Gaye’s children, however, are not only demanding money from sales of the song: they also want a share of touring money driven by the song, an amount estimated in testimony at $11 million. The Gayes are also seeking actual damage for a reduction in the market value of the licensing of Gaye’s ‘Got to Give It Up’.