Publishing Notes: The High Cost of Synch, ‘Blurred Lines’ Deposition Released

What does it cost for a synch license to play a musical title on national television? David Letterman revealed his “no play” list for The Late Show recently, and told viewers the cost per performance of at least one musical classic.

In addition to “no play” songs from Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen, titles from The Eagles catalog are restricted. Letterman revealed The Eagles’ licensing fee for one song on the national broadcast is $250,000.

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Robin Thicke

The Los Angeles Times released the deposition about the copyright infringement suit from the 2013 summer smash “Blurred Lines.” Writer credits include Pharrell Williams, T.I., and singer Robin Thicke, with the latter retaining about 18-22 percent of publishing and writer royalties, despite testifying that Williams made the song without him. Thus, Thicke believed he has a larger piece than he deserves. Thicke stated he had “nothing to do” with the most successful song of his career.

Thicke also noted he hoped to sell more records by taking the writer credit to claim it was his idea, in order to play off public perception that the song was more personal to him.

Williams, co-writer and producer of the song, noted in his own deposition, “This is what happens every day in our industry. You know, people are made to look like they have much more authorship in the situation than they actually do. So that’s where the embellishment comes in.”