In the second week of his testimony in his copyright infringement trial, musician Ed Sheeran continued to make clear signs of frustration as he discussed whether his top-charting track Thinking Out Loud plagiarized the timeless Marvin Gaye song Let’s Get It On. Did Ed Sheeran really copy Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On? Let’s hear them for ourselves.
Zurich Concert Video: Key Evidence in Ed Sheeran’s Copyright Infringement Trial
Ben Crump, an attorney for Townsend, claimed last week during a trial opening statement that a concert video from Zurich where Sheeran is seen switching between the alleged infringing song, Thinking Out Loud, and Let’s Get It On, amounted to “smoking gun” evidence of a copyright violation by Sheeran.
https://youtu.be/RxZjVZKVN7k?t=269
Ed Sheeran on Song Mashups during concerts
- Ilene Farkas, Sheeran’s attorney, refuted Crump’s assertion by having her client perform a brief mini-concert for the jury on Monday.
- He was happy to pick up a guitar from behind his witness chair whenever she asked him to demonstrate how he could switch from one song to another and back again, a process known as mashups.
- He claimed that he used the mashups to “spice it up a bit” during performances, typically picking songs with comparable chord structures.
- You could combine it with another love song if it’s a love song, Sheeran stated. Songs like I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton, as performed by Whitney Houston, or Can’t Help Falling in Love, as performed by Elvis Presley, would go nicely with Thinking Out Loud he then added.
- When Farkas questioned her client about whether he had taken inspiration from Let’s Get It On when writing his song, he replied that he had not.
NEW: Ed Sheeran is headed to jury trial after a federal judge refuses to end #copyright lawsuit claiming "Thinking Out Loud" ripped off Marvin Gaye’s "Let's Get It On." pic.twitter.com/EPJ0lEEKoP
— Bill Donahue (@Bill__Donahue) January 3, 2019
Music expert says: “The writers of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ did not copy ‘Let’s Get It On,’”
- No musicological evidence, according to a music expert testifying on behalf of the defense, suggests that Ed Sheeran and his writing partner plagiarized Let’s Get It On when they wrote Thinking Out Loud.
- According to Lawrence Ferrara, an expert witness, the writers of “Thinking Out Loud” did not plagiarize “Let’s Get It On.”
- The melodies in question are “dramatically different” and only have “fragmentary similarities,” according to Ferrara; the chord progression was in use before Let’s Get It On; and the harmonic rhythm is “unremarkable.”
The copyright infringement lawsuit against Ed Sheeran continues to stir controversy as he denies allegations that his hit song “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarized Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” A key piece of evidence in the trial is a concert video from Zurich, where Sheeran was seen performing a mashup of the two songs.
While Ben Crump, an attorney for Townsend, claimed that the video was “smoking gun” evidence of copyright violation, Sheeran’s attorney refuted this by explaining that mashups are a common practice in his performances.
Moreover, a music expert testified that there was no evidence of plagiarism, as the melodies and chord progressions of the two songs are different. As the trial progresses, the outcome remains uncertain, and the question of whether Ed Sheeran truly copied Marvin Gaye’s classic song remains up for debate.
If you have any questions regarding this article, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay with us, here at Spiel Times.
Make sure you subscribe to our push-notifications and never miss an update from the world of video games, cinema, and sports. You can also follow us on Twitter @spieltimes for the latest PS5 restock and drop. Until next time, Stay Safe and Happy Gaming!
