Ed Sheeran, the famous singer-songwriter, is currently facing a plagiarism lawsuit for allegedly copying Marvin Gaye’s 1973 track, ‘Let’s Get It On’, with his hit song ‘Thinking Out Loud’.
However, Sheeran may have found an unusual way to defend himself, by performing in court.
During the trial, Sheeran took to the stand in Manhattan federal court and picked up his guitar to demonstrate how he wrote his hit song.
He began by explaining that songwriting came naturally to him, and he could easily write up to nine songs in a day.
He claimed that his friend and song collaborator, Amy Wadge, was the one who first started playing with the chords for ‘Thinking Out Loud’, and they had worked together on the lyrics.
Sheeran then played the chords of the song and sang the phrase ‘I’m singing out now’, which later became ‘I’m thinking out loud’, to show the jury how quickly he could put words to a melody. “When I write melodies, it’s like phonetics,” he explained from the witness stand.
Sheeran also mentioned that he could not read music and was not classically trained in anything.
The singer, who had his guitar conveniently placed behind him on the stand, apologised for his musical abilities and told the jury, “I’m not the world’s most talented guitar player.” However, he confidently defended himself when prosecutors showed a video of him transitioning from ‘Thinking Out Loud’ to ‘Let’s Get It On’ in a live performance.
Sheeran argued that “most pop songs can fit over most pop songs,” and if he had plagiarised the track, he would not have performed it in front of 20,000 people.
The lawsuit against Sheeran has been filed by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote ‘Let’s Get It On’ with Marvin Gaye.
The Townsend family is seeking a share of the profits from Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’.
One relative of the late Ed Townsend, Kathryn Griffin Townsend, had previously appeared as a witness and told the court that she was fighting to protect her father’s legacy.
However, she later admitted that she was reluctant about this lawsuit since she believed Sheeran was “a great artist with a great future”.
The case has garnered significant attention from music industry experts and fans alike, as it raises questions about the boundaries of originality and creativity in music.
While it remains to be seen how the case will be decided, Sheeran’s performance in court certainly adds an intriguing element to this high-profile trial.
