The success of such a case, in a common-law system like that of the United States, would probably lead record companies to be more careful before releasing a record. In particular, they would be more likely to seek clearance from both lawyers and musicologists before putting a recording on the market. This would create additional advantages for larger record companies, which could spread the cost of such expertise over a larger number of artists. It would also lead to many cases in which record company executives declined to release a recording because of fear of legal action. At the same time, record companies might become more open to innovative styles of music, if only because they would be seen as more resistant to charges of copyright infringement.
So, the result would be good for lawyers, and good for musicologists, and, perhaps, good for those who liked more variety in their juke boxes.