Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran took the stand in a Manhattan court Monday in the latest of a series of copyright infringement trials he has faced. Testifying with his guitar in hand, Sheeran denied claims that he violated copyright law with his hit “Thinking Out Loud.”
The suit is being brought against Sheeran by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the famous Marvin Gaye track “Let’s Get It On.” It alleges that Sheeran lifted several key elements from “Let’s Get It On,” namely the main chord progression.
“I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,” Sheeran said, adding that, if he loses the case, “I’m done -- I’m stopping.”
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The plaintiff’s ‘smoking gun’ is a video of Sheeran performing a mash-up of “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get It On.” Beyond saying that he would be an “idiot” to perform a stolen song live in concert, Sheeran’s legal defense amounts to a line said by his attorney, Ilene Farkas, last week: “No one owns basic musical building blocks.”
Last year, Sheeran won a similar copyright infringement case related to his 2017 song “Shape of You.” After winning the trial, he posted a video calling these copyright claims “really damaging to the songwriting industry.”
“There’s only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify. That’s 22 million songs a year, and there’s only 12 notes that are available,” Sheeran said. “I’m not an entity. I’m not a corporation. I’m a human being. I’m a father. I’m a husband. I’m a son. Lawsuits are not a pleasant experience.”
