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Popcast: ‘Money,’ ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and the Blurred Lines of Song Ownership

Barrett Strong, a pianist and singer, was the first to record the song “Money (That’s What I Want).”Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times Barrett Strong, a pianist and singer, was the first to record the song “Money (That’s What I Want).”

This week, Larry Rohter, a culture reporter for The Times, talks to host Ben Ratliff about two potentially precedent-setting music-copyright cases in recent news, involving the bid to recapture rights by the authors of “Money (That’s What I Want)” and “Y.M.C.A.” They also discuss the matter of Robin Thicke vs. the heirs of Marvin Gaye over the rhythmic feel of “Blurred Lines” vis-à-vis “Got To Give It Up.”

Will there be a new understanding of who should control and profit from the last century of pop music? And aside from how the law may become reshaped in favor of older songwriters, what does it mean for the creative process of newer songwriters in a time of a different kind of borrowing and adapting?

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Larry Rohter on the rights battles surrouding “Money (That’s What I Want)” and “Y.M.C.A.”