Ed Sheeran questioned his own music skills during a Marvin Gaye plagiarism trial.
The musician was called to the witness stand in New York on Thursday (27 April) after being sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, the songwriter who composed Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On”.
It has been alleged that Sheeran’s 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” copied harmonic progressions, melodic and rhythmic elements from the 1973 Gaye track without permission, which Sheeran denies.
Sheeran briefly performed lines from the song, explaining his songwriting technique to the court, saying: “When I write vocal melodies, it’s like phonetics.”
Sheeran claimed he often writes up to 10 songs in one day. He co-wrote “Thinking Out Loud” with Amy Wadge.
However, according to AP, Sheeran, who has won dozens of awards and headlined Glastonbury, apologised after accidentally hitting the mic with his hand, and told those present: “I’m not the world’s most talented guitar player.”
Court has now adjourned for the week following its third day, with Sheeran scheduled to resume testifying in the trial on Monday.
Day two of the trial was drama-filled after the plaintiff, Kathryn Townsend Griffin, collapsed in court.
Griffen, who is Townsend’s daughter, reportedly fainted when Sheeran’s lawyers began cross-examination of a music expert and was taken to hospital.
On the same day, the courtroom erupted into laughter after hearing an AI-generated version of “Let’s Get it On”.
On Tuesday (25 April), the plaintiff’s lawyer, Ben Crump, presented a video from one of Sheeran’s past live performances in which he “mashes up” his track with “Let’s Get it On”.
The attorney described the video, which can be viewed on YouTube, as a “smoking gun”.
“That concert video is a confession,” said Crump.
Sheeran’s lawyer Ilene S Farkas countered by arguing that the video does not prove copyright infringement took place, highlighting the fact that Sheeran frequently performs mash-ups during gigs.
