Artists and songwriters have reacted online to the “Blurred Lines” verdict. Keith Urban weighed in with the Associated Press yesterday (March 12) saying “I’d be most curious to hear what Marvin thought.”

MusicRow recently featured an exclusive interview with Richard Busch, a Nashville-based lawyer for the Gaye family, regarding the verdict. Meanwhile, “Blurred Lines” song creators, Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke and T.I. released a statement to Rolling Stone on Tuesday (Mar. 10).

It’s tough because everybody is influenced by things. They always say the art of originality is knowing how to hide your sources. It’s tricky. My initial reaction was shock. It seems more like a sound, feel, style, genre, and era [in which] none of which could be copywritten.

If you have a massive hit like ‘Blurred Lines,’ you’ve got a bigger target on your back. A lot of people in the same position just call it an homage. But when you have a big hit, they come after you.”

I have mixed feeling on all of it, quite frankly. I’d be most curious to hear what Marvin thought about the whole situation.”—Keith Urban

While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward. ‘Blurred Lines’ was created from the heart and minds of Pharrell, Robin and T.I. and not taken from anyone or anywhere else. We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter.—statement from Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke and T.I.

Jason Isbell, Chely Wright. Photo: Twitter

Other artists to weigh in on the subject include Chely Wright, and Jason Isbell. Buzzfeed quoted songwriter for “Stay With Me” (Sam Smith) Jimmy Naples, “Talk Dirty” (Jason DeRulo) producer (in addition to Florida Georgia Line and Tim McGraw releases) Ricky Reed, and songwriter for “Single Ladies” (Beyonce), “Umbrella” (Rihanna) and “Baby” (Justin Bieber) Terius (The-Dream) Nash.

Lots of uninformed chatter from folks who don’t know much about writing music & copyright law. You should read this- http://t.co/CNO7VEuZik— Chely Wright

Don’t let blogs tell you music fans are being hurt the most by the ‘Blurred Lines’ verdict. PLENTY of formulaic, soundalike crap out there. — Jason Isbell

I didn’t feel like he’d ripped off the song. They’d obviously been inspired by it, but I was a bit disappointed to hear the verdict. If you’re gonna say he was inspired by that record, but actually none of the melodies or chords or anything line up, but he’s still broken the rules somehow, all of a sudden you start looking at anyone who’s ever sampled an Amen break. The Beatles could make a lot of claims on that basis. So it’s hard to draw the line, isn’t it? —Jimmy Napes

The system does a great job of protecting the copyrights that are in place for songs that other artists are inspired by or sample. But the ‘Blurred Lines’ case makes me a little nervous because those songs aren’t really musically related in any way when it comes to the chords or the melodies. There’s nothing similar aside from the good feeling that it gives you when you listen to it. That for me is pretty scary because it could open up a whole floodgate of people being like, ‘Well, this song kinda feels like this old song.’ What’s made music great for generations and generations is that young musicians are inspired by the old dogs and make records that show their influence. If people start suing based on a feeling, that will be a dark day for creators. I would hate to see lawsuits make things harder for producers and songwriters. The funny thing is, a lot of times musician-to-musician, we respect one another. The village elders, so to speak, respect the up-and-coming cats and vice-versa. If it was up to us, we would probably sort things out most times. But people bring in publishers, and lawyers, and estates, and all this kind of stuff and it becomes a money thing. That’s when it gets scary. —Ricky Reed

My head is kind of like a jukebox, but I think it only puts me in the realm of greats. I never bite anything. I’m definitely inspired…but I try to make sure that I’m pushing the envelope, even if I have to fail three times to get there. It’s a conscious effort to stay pure, and clean, and new as an artist. There’s nothing new under the sun, as my grandfather always said, but there is such a thing as being original in how you pull the notes from the stars….No one really celebrates originality. Not in a pop space. When you’re growing up and the things you see on TV are imitations, you’re going to imitate because that’s what gets you on TV. Nobody celebrates when people do something really new. —Terius (The-Dream)Nash

American Idol season 14 is in full swing with plenty of Middle Tennessee residents onboard.

Clark Beckham, a 22-year-old White House, Tenn., native has remained in the Top 11 after a piano performance of “Takin’ It To The Streets.” Previous contestants in the Top 24 included 19-year-old Sarina-Joi Crowe, from Columbia, Tenn., and 18-year-old Riley Bria, a Spring Hill, Tenn., native. The program auditioned contestants in Nashville last year.

New this year is the addition of Big Machine Label Group Founder/CEO Scott Borchetta as mentor. He will sign the season winner to Big Machine/Universal. The mogul has begun coaching the contestants as if they were his own artists on song selection, performance and look. View clip 1. View clip 2.

Country superstar Keith Urban continues as judge on the program alongside Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr.

Kelly Clarkson, the first-ever winner of American Idol announced last night (March 12) her return to the program on Wednesday, April 1. The adopted Nashville resident will perform and act as a mentor for the contestants.

Idol will return to FOX next Wed./Thurs. to whittle the contestants even further. For those of you counting down the days, the 2015 finale date will span two nights, starting Tuesday, May 12 and Wednesday, May 13.

Darius Rucker To Host Sixth Annual Darius Rucker and Friends Benefit

For a sixth year, Darius Rucker will host his “Darius Rucker and Friends” benefit concert in Nashville. The event is set for Monday, June 8 at the Wildhorse Saloon, and will benefit the St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

An exclusive pre-sale for Rucker’s fan club members began March 11, and general on sale purchases will begin on Friday, March 13 at 11 a.m. Prices begin at $35 for General Admission, and extend to $100 for VIP tables. Tickets are available through the Wildhorse Saloon box office, wildhorsesaloon.com, and dariusrucker.com.

Big & Rich To Headline Military Appreciation Day For PGA

Photo: Courtesy Morris Artist Management

Continuing a PGA Tour tradition of honoring men and women in uniform, The Players Championship unveiled a full slate of military appreciation activities and programs for the 2015 event, including a special performance by Big & Rich on Tuesday, May 5, during Military Appreciation Day. Held on Wednesday of tournament week in the past, Military Appreciation Day has moved to Tuesday this year when the tournament returns to The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, May 5-11.

Big & Rich will cap off the Military Appreciation Day program on the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse Lawn, which will include pageantry by military personnel, a flyover, and a National Anthem performance by rising country artist Cali Rodi. Speakers at the Military Appreciation ceremony will be Sergeant Major Bryan Battaglia, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem; Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown; and a TOUR player TBD.

Ronnie Reno To Celebrate 60 Years in Music

Two-time International Bluegrass Music Association honoree and “Bluegrass Music’s Youngest Old-Timer” Ronnie Reno is set to celebrate 60 years in entertainment with the release of the new project Lessons Learned. The project, which releases March 17, will feature the single “Lower Than Lonesome.”

Lessons Learned is Reno’s first album in nearly a decade, and his first for Rural Rhythm Records. The 11-track album contains nine songs penned by Reno. The project is produced by Reno.

Asleep At The Wheel To Perform at CMA Theater

Band Asleep at the Wheel is slated to perform at the CMA Theater at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame on Friday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $27.50-39.50. For tickets, visit cmatheater.com.