…By Henry George for TDPel Media.
Ed Sheeran played guitar and sang in a New York court case on Thursday in a bid to convince jurors that he did not copy Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On.
Sheeran is being sued in a civil case by the heirs to Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, who claim that he infringed copyright with parts of his hit, Thinking Out Loud.
The musician played a few bars of the song, singing, “I’m singing out loud,” which was eventually changed to the title of the song, while explaining how he came to write the song.
Background to the case
Lawyers for the heirs had earlier displayed a video of Sheeran transitioning seamlessly between “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get it On” in a live performance, which they said amounted to a confession that he had ripped off the song.
However, Sheeran told the court there was nothing unusual in that because it is “quite simple to weave in and out of songs” that are in the same key.
The latest trial comes a year after Sheeran was cleared at a trial in London of claims he copied parts of his hit song, Shape Of You.
Sheeran’s testimony
Around an hour into his testimony, Sheeran grabbed a guitar and began to sing parts of Thinking Out Loud while denying that he had been influenced by Gaye’s 1973 hit.
He testified how he wrote the song in 2014 at his home in England with friend and collaborator Amy Wadge.
Sheeran also stated that he used his own version of phonetics to create songs so quickly that he could write up to nine in a day.
Demonstrating, he played a few bars of the song, singing, “I’m singing out loud,” which was eventually changed to the title of the song.
After he sang those words, he spoke a few too, saying “and then words fall in” as he tried to explain his process for creating songs.
Inspiration for the song
The musician said the song had been inspired by his grandparents’ love for each other, his grandfather’s recent death and a new romantic relationship he had just begun.
He appeared self-deprecating as he told of his background in music, saying: “I can’t read music.
I’m not classically trained in anything.
” He also told the packed courtroom: “I’m not the world’s most talented guitar player.”
The trial will resume on Monday, and the heirs to Gaye’s co-writer are suing for damages and a portion of the profits from the song.
If the verdict goes against Sheeran, he could face a heavy financial penalty.
Analysis and commentary
The case is not the first of its kind in the music industry, as artists are regularly sued for copyright infringement.
The burden of proof is on the plaintiff to show that there was substantial similarity between the two songs in question.
The case will come down to whether Sheeran had access to Let’s Get It On and whether the similarities between the two songs were a result of copying or coincidence.
The outcome of this case could set a precedent for future cases involving copyright infringement in music.