Brian McBrearty
Brian McBrearty is an American forensic musicologist and music copyright expert witness. He is the founder of Musicologize, an independent practice in Pleasanton, California specializing in song similarity analysis and music copyright infringement analysis. McBrearty has been quoted as an expert source by NPR, Reuters, and Courthouse News Service, and has been cited in academic legal scholarship across multiple U.S. law reviews.
Education
McBrearty holds two undergraduate degrees from the State University of New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music, with concentrations in theory, composition, and jazz studies, summa cum laude, from SUNY New Paltz, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in music business from SUNY Potsdam.
Career
Early work
Before founding his forensic musicology practice, McBrearty founded Mediagloss, an audio studio providing original music composition, sound design, and audio strategy for interactive media and advertising. He also founded Sonitarium, a production music library.
Musicologize (2015–present)
In 2015, McBrearty founded Musicologize, an independent forensic musicology practice. The practice provides services including song similarity analysis, expert witness reports and testimony, prior art research, and clearance analysis for attorneys, music publishers, labels, advertising agencies, and music supervisors.
McBrearty accepts both plaintiff and defense engagements in music copyright matters, which he has described as a professional credibility requirement for expert witnesses.[1] His written work has appeared in public federal court filings in multiple U.S. district courts.
McBrearty coined the term "preventative forensic musicology" to describe pre-release song similarity analysis intended to identify potential copyright infringement exposure before commercial release. He operates MusicSimilarityCheck.com and a branded clearance service called Musicologize Clear™.
He is a member of the American Musicological Society (AMS) and ASCAP.
Expert commentary and media
McBrearty has been sought as an expert commentator by major news organizations in connection with significant music copyright cases.
In March 2020, NPR's All Things Considered quoted McBrearty in its coverage of the Ninth Circuit's ruling affirming that Led Zeppelin did not infringe the copyright of Spirit's "Taurus" in creating "Stairway to Heaven." Reporter Andrew Limbong quoted McBrearty explaining the two-pillar framework for copyright infringement analysis — similarity and access — and the inverse ratio rule.[2]
In May 2023, Courthouse News Service quoted McBrearty following the jury verdict in Townsend v. Sheeran, in which Ed Sheeran was found not liable for copyright infringement of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in connection with his song "Thinking Out Loud." McBrearty commented: "Nothing in 'Thinking Out Loud' necessitates Sheeran being influenced by or even aware of 'Let's Get It On.' And further, even if he was, the defense is correct in that the elements observable in both works do not constitute protectable expression."[3]
In August 2024, Reuters quoted McBrearty in coverage of the music labels' copyright lawsuits against AI music generation companies Suno and Udio. Reuters identified him as "a musicologist who specializes in copyright analysis" and quoted him on the particular complexity of music infringement analysis: "Music has more factors than just the stream of words. It has pitch, and it has rhythm, and it has harmonic context. It's a richer mix of different elements that make it a little bit less straightforward."[4]
McBrearty was interviewed on the Ipse Dixit podcast, a legal scholarship podcast hosted by University of Kentucky law professor Brian Frye, where he discussed his career, the methodology of forensic musicology, and recent copyright cases involving Marvin Gaye's music.[5] He also appeared on Scoring Notes, a music notation and industry podcast, in a full-length episode covering his practice and approach to copyright analysis.[6]
Academic citations
McBrearty's published analyses on Musicologize and Popular Musicology have been cited in multiple U.S. law reviews. A 2025 article in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy by Lauryn M. Sparger, "Don't Trust the Vibes: A Better Test for Pop Music Copyright Infringement," cited his analysis in its primary footnotes and quoted him by name in the article body.[7] His work has also been cited in the Cardozo Law Review,[8] the Georgia State University Law Review,[9] the University of Richmond Law Review, the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, the Rutgers University Law Review, and the Southern California Law Review.
McBrearty has been quoted by name in the Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal[10] and in a 2025 article published by Ankara University.[11]
Selected cases
McBrearty's published analyses have addressed major music copyright disputes, including Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin ("Stairway to Heaven"), Townsend v. Sheeran ("Thinking Out Loud" / "Let's Get It On"), Williams v. Gaye ("Blurred Lines"), Perry v. Hudson ("Dark Horse"), and Structured Asset Sales v. Sheeran (2025).
References
- ↑ "Music Copyright Expert Witness". Musicologize. Retrieved May 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ Limbong, Andrew (March 9, 2020). "Led Zeppelin Wins Copyright Dispute Over 'Stairway To Heaven'". NPR. Retrieved May 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ Russell, Josh (May 4, 2023). "Estate of 'Let's Get It On' writer loses Ed Sheeran copyright case". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved May 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ Brittain, Blake (August 3, 2024). "Music labels' AI lawsuits create new copyright puzzle for US courts". Reuters. Retrieved May 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Brian McBrearty on Forensic Musicology". Ipse Dixit. May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Holding court with Brian McBrearty, forensic musicologist". Scoring Notes. March 1, 2025. Retrieved May 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ Sparger, Lauryn M. (2025). "Don't Trust the Vibes: A Better Test for Pop Music Copyright Infringement". Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. 39: 305.
- ↑ "Should I Have Held Your Hand or Can You Hold Your Own?". Cardozo Law Review. Retrieved May 2026. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ Hopkins, J.B. (2025). "A Broken Record: A Statutory Solution to Fixing Music Copyright". Georgia State University Law Review.
- ↑ Martuscello, A. (2025). "Sing Us a Song, You're the AI Man: AI's Impact on Music Copyright Law". Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal.
- ↑ Ünal, R.; Taylan, A. (2025). "AI Covers: Listener Perspectives". Ankara Üniversitesi İlef Dergisi.
External links
Category:American musicologists Category:Forensic musicologists Category:Music copyright Category:Expert witnesses Category:SUNY New Paltz alumni Category:SUNY Potsdam alumni Category:People from Pleasanton, California Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
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