Singer testifies over claim that Thinking Out Loud copies Let’s Get It On
Ed Sheeran has denied copying elements of the Marvin Gaye song Let’s Get It On while composing his Grammy award-winning single Thinking Out Loud, in sometimes testy exchanges in a court in Lower Manhattan.
The English pop star took the stand after Ben Crump, the civil rights lawyer, accused him of in effect confessing to plagiarism on stage when he blended his own song with part of Gaye’s R&B anthem during a live performance.
This amounted to “a smoking gun”, Crump told the jury in his opening statement. “Mr Ed Sheeran himself in a concert merged Thinking Out Loud and Let’s Get It On.”
Sheeran outside court
Judge Louis Stanton told the jury that they would be shown the video, adding that they should restrain themselves while watching it. “We don’t allow dancing,” he said.
Sheeran, 32, has been sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who wrote Let’s Get It On with Gaye in 1973. Testifying in his own defence, Sheeran said that he frequently performed mash-ups of quite different songs in concert.
“You could go from Let It Be to No Woman, No Cry and switch back,” he said, referring to the songs by the Beatles and Bob Marley, which shared harmonic elements. “If I had done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that.”
Asked about the performance by Keisha Rice, representing Townsend’s heirs, Sheeran grew frustrated when she interrupted him as he tried to answer. “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,” he said.
Rice asked about a 2014 Sheeran song called Take It Back, in which the singer raps the line “plagiarism is hidden”.
“Those are my lyrics, yep,” Sheeran replied. “Can I give some context to them?” Rice said that if she wanted some context, she would ask for it.
Earlier, Sheeran’s lawyer had told the jury that Gaye’s song and Sheeran’s were distinct and used basic musical building blocks used in countless other songs.
The trial is expected to last a week, after which, if the jury determines that Sheeran is liable for copyright infringement, they will ultimately be asked to determine how much he and his label owe in damages.
The trial continues.
Source: The Times
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