Ed Sheeran’s co-writer gets copyright trial verdict tattooed on herself
Some people celebrate with champagne, others with parties, but Ed Sheeran's co-writer Amy Wadge chose to mark the victory in his copyright trial by getting a tattoo of the verdict.
Sheeran faced trial in New York after being accused of copying aspects of the classic Marvin Gaye song 'Let's Get It On' for his own track, 'Thinking Out Loud'.
Heirs of Ed Townsend, who composed Gaye's song, claimed there were similarities in 'harmonic progressions, melodic and rhythmic elements', but Sheeran denied the allegations and argued there are countless songs which share similar chords and melodies.
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The jury ultimately ruled in Sheeran's favour, stating the British singer had 'independently created' the song with his longtime collaborator, Wadge, and that the tune did not infringe on the copyright of Gaye’s song.
Sheeran celebrated the news in a statement after the trial, stating he was 'obviously very happy' with the outcome.
"It looks like I'm not going to have to retire from my day job after all," he said. "But at the same time I am absolutely frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all."
Wadge was reportedly in tears with happiness over the ruling, and decided she wanted a permanent reminder of the verdict inked on to her body.
In a post shared on Instagram, Wadge shared photos of her arm which is now branded with the words 'independently created' in black ink.
"Had to be done," the songwriter wrote in a caption alongside the images, adding: "Thank you @eldannydiablx for my new ink ! Leaving New York and heading home to my family after three of the toughest weeks of my life but I’m so grateful for the love and support I’ve received and still on cloud nine about the verdict !
"Also special mention to my utterly amazing manager @goodpeoplemanagment who has literally held me up through it all #independentlycreated."
The tattoo came after Wadge shared a statement describing the verdict as a win for songwriters and creators everywhere.
"That song changed my life but today I realised it was way more important than I could have ever contemplated," she added. "The truth is really all there is to it."
Wadge and Sheeran have been friends for almost two decades, and after returning home from New York, she told BBC Radio Wales that the pair had been working on new music while going through the trial.
“Ed and I are never around each other without writing songs," she said. "So believe me there are already a lot of songs from the last month. Watch this space.”
Topics: Ed Sheeran, Music
Emily Brown