British pop star Ed Sheeran goes on trial in Manhattan Monday, accused of stealing from the iconic Prince of Motown, Marvin Gaye.
Heirs of the late soul singer and his co-writer on “Let’s Get It On,” Ed Townsend, sued Sheeran in July 2017. They accuse him of blatantly violating copyright laws by including melodies from the soul classic in his Grammy Award-winning 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud.” Opening arguments were expected after jury selection in the Manhattan federal court lawsuit.
Lawyers for heirs of Townsend, who wrote the critically acclaimed soul song with Gaye and created its musical composition, say Sheeran has acknowledged “the musical import” of “Let’s Get It On” on his tune “as a forebear and/or musical foundation.” They cite a video of him on YouTube performing a medley of both songs at a concert.
“[T]here can be no legitimate question that the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions in [”Thinking Out Loud”] are not the product of independent creation,” reads the lawsuit.
“The melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions of [”Thinking Out Loud”] are substantially and/or strikingly similar to the drum composition from [”Let’s Get It On.”].”
Sheeran is expected to testify at the trial.
It’s not the first time Sheeran, 32, of Halifax, West Yorkshire, has been accused of plagiarism.
In April last year, he won a UK court battle in which he was accused of copying part of the 2015 song “Oh Why” by Sami Chokri in his 2017 hit “Shape Of You.”
Sheeran, one in a generations-long line of young white men accused of stealing from Black musicians, complained after the win and said such legal actions were “damaging” to the music business.
“I feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there is no basis for the claim,” Sheeran said. “It’s really damaging to the songwriting industry.”