Ed Sheeran testifies in court over Marvin Gaye ‘plagiarism’ case
NEW YORK: Singer-Songwriter Ed Sheeran defends ballad in court as he testifies over ‘plagiarism’ case concerning similarities in his song “Thinking Out Loud” to Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”.
According to international media, the singer-songwriter appeared before a court in New York to defend his ballad which was allegedly plagiarised from Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”. Sheeran defended his songwriting after children of Gaye’s co-writer for “Let’s Get It On” alleged he had plagiarised “an ascending four-chord sequence, and its rhythm” with co-writer Amy Wadge, reported The Guardian.
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Appearing before the court on Tuesday, Sheeran testified that his song “Thinking Out Loud” was composed by him and his co-writer, inspired by the loved shared by his grandparents. Meanwhile, Ben Crump who represented the plaintiff argued that the singers’ mashup performance of “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get It On” is a “confession” of plagiarism. Crump has previously represented George Floyd’s family.
In response to this, Sheeran rebutted: “Most pop songs can fit over most pop songs … You could go from Let it Be to No Woman, No Cry and switch back”. At one point, the singer argued, “If I had done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be a quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that”. In response to another statement by lawyer Keisha Rice, Sheeran said, “I feel like you don’t want me to answer because you know that what I’m going to say is actually going to make quite a lot of sense”.
On the other hand, Sheeran’s lawyer Ilene S Farkas stated before the court that “basic musical building blocks” cannot be owned by anyone. Likewise, in an earlier written filing, the singers’ legal team had argued that the two songs do “share versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression” which was “freely available” to songwriters in general.
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Pictured above is Marvin Gaye
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Kathryn Griffin Townsend, daughter of “Let’s Get It On” co-writer, Ed Townsend, also appeared before the court as a witness and stated that she wished to “protect” her father’s legacy adding that Sheeran is a “great artist” with a bright future. On the other hand, a musicologist recruited by the plaintiff has described that while the chords are “virtually interchangeable” they are somewhat different. Likewise, a musicologist retained by Sheeran also supported the stance that while the chord sequence is nothing unique, there are numerous examples of it being used by other musical artists including Donovan and the Seekers.
During the hearing, Sheeran also remarked that after recording his single “Thinking Out Loud” he had the impression that it was “production-wise” an imitation of Van Morrison’s work, reported The Guardian.
Pictured above is Ed Sheeran prior to his appearance before a court in New York, over plagiarism charges.
It is worth mentioning that apart from this case, Sheeran has been accused of plagiarism prior to this. Earlier, in April 2022, the singer won a court battle for his musical hit “Shape of You”. After this incident, he was accused of copying a song by Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue however, the court concluded “neither deliberately nor subconsciously” did Sheeran imitate the song.
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