Ed Sheeran won’t need to quit music forever after winning his copyright trial
It looks like Ed Sheeran won’t have to quit music after winning his copyright infringement lawsuit.
A Manhattan jury found he did not copy Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On' in his song ‘Thinking Out Loud’.
Kathryn Townsend Griffin, the daughter of Ed Townsend, the co-writer of Gaye's track, argued that Sheeran, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing owed them money for copyright infringement.
She alleged the 32-year-old mimicked the iconic tune when creating his number one hit back in 2014.
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Townsend said there were 'striking similarities' between the two tracks and 'overt common elements' that violate their copyright.
Sheeran even took the stand multiple times during the trial and even sang and played his guitar.
However, after three hours of deliberation, the jury came to its decision, which saw the Grammy Award-winning singer triumph.
The elated singer told reporters outside the courthouse: "I'm obviously very happy with the outcome of the case.
"And it looks like I'm not having to retire from my day job after all.
"But at the same time, I'm unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all."
He added: “We’ve spent the last eight years talking about two songs with dramatically different lyrics and melodies which are all so different and used by songwriters every day all over the world.”
His lawyers have said that the case should never have ended up going to court in the first place.
While arguing his case, Sheeran told the court: "If I had done what you're accusing me of doing I'd be quite an idiot to stand on stage in front of 25,000 people."
The Brit has also disclosed the emotional toll the lawsuit has taken on him, revealing he had to miss his grandmother’s funeral to attend court proceedings in New York.
But still, it’s great news for Sheerios, as the singer previously stated that if Townsend won the case, he would call it a day on his music career.
"If that happens, I'm done, I'm stopping," he told his lawyer, Ilene Farkas.
"I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it."
His win also coincides with the release of his new album Subtract, which comes out today.
Sheeran has teased that his album is his most emotional body of work yet.
He wrote on Instagram: "I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be.
"Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art."
Topics: News, Celebrity, Music, Ed Sheeran
Charisa Bossinakis