After three hours of discussion, the jury in Ed Sheeran’s copyright infringement trial came to the unanimous conclusion that the singer did not steal the melody of Marvin Gaye’s 1973 song “Let’s Get It On” for his 2014 tune “Thinking Out Loud.”
Immediately after the reading of the decision, Sheeran addressed People in the courtroom and said, “I feel like the truth was heard and the truth was believed.” “It’s nice that we can both move on with our lives now — it’s sad that it had to come to this.” “It’s nice that we can both move on with our lives now.”
Outside the courtroom, he offered a lengthy statement to the reporters: “I’m certainly extremely satisfied with the conclusion of the case, and it seems that I’m not going to have to retire from my day job after all. However, at the same time, I find it extremely frustrating that groundless claims such as this are even permitted to be brought before the court,” he stated in part. “We have spent the previous eight years discussing two songs that have lyrics, melodies, and four chords that are profoundly different from one another and are utilized by composers every day, all over the globe. These chords are fundamental building blocks that have been used to produce music since long before ‘Let’s Get It On’ was composed, and they will continue to be used to create music long after we have all passed away.
He went on to clarify that, from his point of view, the trial was about a great deal more than just his one song.
Sheeran proceeded by saying, “If the jury had decided this matter in the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters.” “We need to be able to write our own original music and engage in independent creation without worrying that every step of the way, such creativity will be wrongly called into question.”
Sheeran’s team contended in a court document that any similarities are a coincidence, contrary to what the heirs of Gaye’s co-writer on the hit, Ed Townsend, had claimed in a lawsuit filed in 2017 that Sheeran’s song, which was co-written by Amy Wadge, had “overt common elements” and “striking similarities” to the classic. Wadge had also been a co-writer of the song with Gaye.
According to what Sheeran’s team is said to have written, “The two songs share versions of a similar and unprotected chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters.”
The British hitmaker testified during the first week of the trial and said that “most pop songs can fit over most pop songs.” This statement was made throughout the trial. This is consistent with what he has said in the past, namely that “pop music only utilizes a limited number of chords and a finite number of notes.” Sheeran is the one who has mixed the two songs together and played it live before.
Sheeran produced his guitar and walked the jurors and his attorney through the steps of his songwriting process as he was testifying in court. He even sang a portion of his big song, which is now being criticized. Additionally, he stated that he wasn’t familiar with Gaye’s classic until after he had already released “Thinking Out Loud.” Instead, according to his testimony, he was influenced by another legendary rock musician, Van Morrison.
It is well known that the singer was not there in Ireland for the burial of his grandmother since he had to appear in court. His father, John, reportedly told those who attended the packed ceremony that he was “so upset” that he couldn’t be there, but that he had to “be thousands of miles away in a court in America defending his integrity.” The aforementioned statement was published in the Daily Mail.
In the past, allegations of copyright violation were leveled against Sheeran. In April 2022, he prevailed in a similar case in the United Kingdom about his song “Shape of You,” which he had released in 2017 after the artist Sami Switch claimed that it was too similar to his song “Oh Why,” which he had released in 2015. Additionally, in 2016, he resolved a legal dispute in which it was alleged that he had plagiarized Matt Cardle’s song “Amazing” in the 2014 song “Photograph.”
Following his legal victory in 2022, he expressed his satisfaction at being exonerated while also expressing his annoyance at the situation.
In a video that was shared on social media, he was heard saying, “I feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there is no basis for the claim.”
Sheeran elaborated on this point during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning that took place before the most recent conviction was announced. He said, “I just think it comes with the territory.” It is accurate to state that when there is a hit, there is also a writ. Every single one of the hits. There are four chords that are used in pop songs, and there are however many notes, whether it be eight notes or anything else, and there are 60,000 songs that are published each and every single day. And if you just think about it from a mathematical perspective, the possibility of this song having the same chords as this song is… You are going to get this with every single pop song from now on, like, unless it just stops, which I don’t believe it does because it’s a huge money business to take things to court; but, unless it just stops, you are going to get this with every single pop song from now on.”
During his testimony in this most recent instance, he voiced his displeasure and said that if he was unsuccessful, he would make a significant adjustment to his way of life.
“If that happens, I’m done, and I’m stopping,” Sheeran stated. “I’m done.” “I think that is a really offensive statement. I put a lot of effort into getting to where I am now.
Even if the verdict in the case had gone against him, Sheeran was experiencing a monumental week in his professional life. Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All is a documentary series that premiered on Disney+ on May 3, 2018. It follows the development of his fifth studio album, Subtract, which is set to be released on May 5, as well as the events that affected the songs on the album. The fact that Cherry Seaborn, his wife of 2019 and the mother of their two young kids, was given a cancer diagnosis in 2018 was a significant development in his life. They were both shaken up by the incident, even though she is doing OK today.
“The moment you find out that the worst thing in the world has happened to someone you love with all your heart, you feel like you’re drowning and can’t get out from under it,” Sheeran claimed in the documentary. “You feel like you can’t get out from under it,” Sheeran added in the documentary. “Just from being in that situation, all of these songs came out.”