A US court ruled that Ed Sheeran did not plagiarize Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On when writing Thinking Out Loud.
The British singer-songwriter had previously denied stealing elements of the song for his 2014 global smash.
The heirs of Gaye’s co-writer claimed that Sheeran, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing owed them money for infringement of their copyright.
Sheeran had stated that if he was found guilty in the New York trial, he would give up his music career.
“If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,” he said when asked about the toll the trial at Manhattan federal court was taking on him.
Sheeran stood up and hugged his team after jurors ruled that he “independently” created his song.
Speaking outside court, Sheeran said he was “obviously very happy” with the ruling.“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.
“If the jury had decided this matter the other way we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters.”
“I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake,” he added.
According to a musicologist for Sheeran’s defense, the four-chord sequence in question was used in several songs prior to Gaye’s hit in 1973.
Gaye’s co-writer Ed Townsend’s daughter, Kathryn Townsend Griffin, accused Sheeran of copyright infringement. She walked quickly past reporters, smoking what appeared to be a cigarillo and saying only, “God is good all the time, all the time God is good.”
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