Popular singer Ed Sheeran recently stated that he’ll be leaving the music industry if he loses the copyright infringement trial where he’s currently involved against the heirs of Ed Townsend.
The lawsuit filed against the pop star in 2017 claims that his 2015 hit song “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarizes Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”, co-written by Townsend.
Ed Sheeran denies the plagiarism accusations
Now, Sheeran, who has denied any wrongdoing during this trial, made the incendiary claim that he’ll be leaving the music industry if found guilty, saying (via Metro):
“If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping. I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it.”
Townsend’s heirs claim that “Thinking Out Loud” unlawfully copies the harmony, melody, and rhythm from Gaye’s 1973 classic tune, while Sheeran argues that any similarities between the songs are merely due to basic songwriting “building blocks”.
The lawsuit was launched in 2017 on behalf of the heirs of Ed Townsend, the R&B composer and producer who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On”, and claimed that Sheeran stole the “heart” of the song by copying its chord progression and harmonic rhythm, while Ben Crump, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told the jury on Thursday he had a “smoking gun” to prove the claim, “Wall Street Journal” reported.
The lawyer referred to eight-year-old video footage of Sheeran performing a medley of “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get It On” during one of his shows, with one song transitioning seamlessly to the other. Sheeran, in turn, denied any such allegations, claiming that most pop songs are built from the same elements, adding:
“If I had done what you’re accusing me of doing, I would have to be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people.”
