<p>A jury in the US decided on Thursday (May 4) that “Thinking Out Loud”,&nbsp;the popular English singer Ed Sheeran’s 2014 hit, did not unlawfully copy from Marvin Gaye’s classic 1973 song “Let's Get It On.” The British musician expressed joy and relief after the verdict and called the ruling good news for creative freedom.</p>

<p>After the verdict, he hugged his legal team inside a Manhattan federal courtroom. Jurors ruled that he had “independently” created the song. Sheeran told reporters outside that he was “very happy” but “unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this” even make it to trial.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
“It is devastating and also insulting to be accused of stealing other people's songs when we put so much into our livelihoods,” said Sheeran, adding that he’s “just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>“I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake,” said Sheeran.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The court also determined that Sheeran’s label Warner Music Group and his music publisher Sony Music Publishing did not violate the copyright as heirs of “Let’s Get It On” songwriter Ed Townsend were not able to prove the infringement of their copyright interest in the Gaye song.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“I want to thank the jury for making the decision that will help protect the creative process for songwriters here in the United States and all around the world,” said Sheeran outside the court.</p>

<p>He also spoke about how if the jury would have “decided this matter the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>The closely-watched trial came to an end after six days and less than three hours of jury deliberations. This comes after the heirs of Gaye co-writer Ed Townsend alleged that Sheeran copied the song’s “harmonic progressions,” “melodic and rhythmic elements,” and “repeated it continuously” throughout his song.</p>

<p>Sheeran had previously denied the allegations and argued that Gaye’s song only has routine elements that are not unique or protectable. The lawsuit had focused on the musical building blocks of Gaye’s song, not the lyrics or the overall feel.<br />
<br />
The heirs sought a share of the profits from Sheeran’s 2014 hit song and in a court filing said that they received 22 per cent of the writer’s share of Gaye’s song from Townsend.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;</em><br />
<br />
&nbsp;</p>

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A jury in the US decided on Thursday (May 4) that “Thinking Out Loud”, the popular English singer Ed Sheeran’s 2014 hit, did not unlawfully copy from Marvin Gaye’s classic 1973 song “Let's Get It On.

A jury in the US decided on Thursday (May 4) that “Thinking Out Loud”, the popular English singer Ed Sheeran’s 2014 hit, did not unlawfully copy from Marvin Gaye’s classic 1973 song “Let's Get It On.” The British musician expressed joy and relief after the verdict and called the ruling good news for creative freedom. After the verdict, he hugged his legal team inside a Manhattan federal courtroom. Jurors ruled that he had “independently” created the song. Sheeran told reporters outside that he was “very happy” but “unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this” even make it to trial. “It is devastating and also insulting to be accused of stealing other people's songs when we put so much into our livelihoods,” said Sheeran, adding that he’s “just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy.” “I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake,” said Sheeran. The court also determined that Sheeran’s label Warner Music Group and his music publisher Sony Music Publishing did not violate the copyright as heirs of “Let’s Get It On” songwriter Ed Townsend were not able to prove the infringement of their copyright interest in the Gaye song. “I want to thank the jury for making the decision that will help protect the creative process for songwriters here in the United States and all around the world,” said Sheeran outside the court. He also spoke about how if the jury would have “decided this matter the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters.” The closely-watched trial came to an end after six days and less than three hours of jury deliberations. This comes after the heirs of Gaye co-writer Ed Townsend alleged that Sheeran copied the song’s “harmonic progressions,” “melodic and rhythmic elements,” and “repeated it continuously” throughout his song. Sheeran had previously denied the allegations and argued that Gaye’s song only has routine elements that are not unique or protectable. The lawsuit had focused on the musical building blocks of Gaye’s song, not the lyrics or the overall feel. The heirs sought a share of the profits from Sheeran’s 2014 hit song and in a court filing said that they received 22 per cent of the writer’s share of Gaye’s song from Townsend. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Singer Ed Sheeran wins ‘Let's Get It On’ copyright trial, says he's 'very happy'

<p>Ed Sheeran's two-year long world tour '÷' was a record-breaking event, and now the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter released his tour dates for 2022.&nbsp;</p>

<p><br />
The upcoming tour will start on 12 May in Belfast and Sheeran will play a total of 12 concerts in the UK. The places that will be covered by the singer include Cardiff, Sunderland, Manchester and Glasgow, and the last three finale nights will be at the Wembley Stadium in London.</p>

<p>However, fifteen more dates have been added to the calendar that comprise 11 countries across Europe.</p>

<p><br />
Interestingly, Ed Sheeran has titled his upcoming tour the Mathematics tour aka the '+ – = ÷ x' tour.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>On October 29, Ed Sheeran will be releasing his fourth studio album '='.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Reportedly, tickets for the Mathematics tour go on sale on &nbsp;September 25.&nbsp;</p>

<p><br />
For the unversed, in 2019, Ed Sheeran broke U2’s record for the highest-grossing world tour of all time, generating £567m ($776m) from 260 concerts and 8.5m tickets sold worldwide.</p>


Ed Sheeran's two-year long world tour '÷' was a record-breaking event, and now the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter released his tour dates for 2022. The upcoming tour will start on 12 May in Belfast and Sheeran will play a total of 12 concerts in the UK.

Ed Sheeran's two-year long world tour '÷' was a record-breaking event, and now the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter released his tour dates for 2022. The upcoming tour will start on 12 May in Belfast and Sheeran will play a total of 12 concerts in the UK. The places that will be covered by the singer include Cardiff, Sunderland, Manchester and Glasgow, and the last three finale nights will be at the Wembley Stadium in London. However, fifteen more dates have been added to the calendar that comprise 11 countries across Europe. Interestingly, Ed Sheeran has titled his upcoming tour the Mathematics tour aka the '+ – = ÷ x' tour. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos) × On October 29, Ed Sheeran will be releasing his fourth studio album '='. Reportedly, tickets for the Mathematics tour go on sale on September 25. For the unversed, in 2019, Ed Sheeran broke U2’s record for the highest-grossing world tour of all time, generating £567m ($776m) from 260 concerts and 8.5m tickets sold worldwide.

Ed Sheeran announces stadium tour for next year

<p>Heirs of the composer for Marvin Gaye&#39;s <em>&#39;Let&#39;s Get It On&#39;</em>&nbsp;sued British musician Ed Sheeran on Tuesday, claiming his hit song <em>&#39;Thinking Out Loud&#39; </em>copies core elements of the late soul singer&#39;s 1973 track.</p>

<p>The copyright infringement lawsuit was filed by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the lyrics to <em>&#39;Let&#39;s Get It On&#39;</em> in 1973 and created its musical composition, according to the complaint filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York.</p>

<p>Representatives for defendants Sheeran, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and Atlantic Records did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p>

<p>The lawsuit, which asks for damages to be assessed at a jury trial, argues that the harmonic progressions, melodic and rhythmic elements central to <em>&#39;Let&#39;s Get It On&#39;</em> formed the structure of Sheeran&#39;s <em>&#39;Thinking Out Loud&#39;</em>.</p>

<p>&quot;The Defendants copied the &#39;heart&#39; of &#39;Let&#39;s&#39; and repeated it continuously throughout &#39;Thinking,&#39;&quot; the lawsuit said. &quot;The melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions of &#39;Thinking&#39; are substantially and/or strikingly similar to the drum composition of &#39;Let&#39;s.&#39;&quot;</p>

<p>Grammy Award-winning Sheeran has become one of Britain&#39;s top-selling artists in the past two years, and has written and co-written tracks for artists such as One Direction, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber.</p>

<p>The lawsuit came two months after California-based musicians sued Sheeran for $20 million over his hit song <em>&#39;Photograph&#39;</em> in an unrelated case.</p>

<p>Gaye&#39;s family last year successfully sued R&amp;B recording artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement in another unrelated case over their hit single <em>&#39;Blurred Lines&#39;</em>, winning a $7.4 million judgement.<br />
<br />
(Reuters)</p>


A copyright infringement lawsuit was filed by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the lyrics to the 1973 track?'Let's Get It On'

Heirs of the composer for Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On' sued British musician Ed Sheeran on Tuesday, claiming his hit song 'Thinking Out Loud' copies core elements of the late soul singer's 1973 track. The copyright infringement lawsuit was filed by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the lyrics to 'Let's Get It On' in 1973 and created its musical composition, according to the complaint filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York. Representatives for defendants Sheeran, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and Atlantic Records did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit, which asks for damages to be assessed at a jury trial, argues that the harmonic progressions, melodic and rhythmic elements central to 'Let's Get It On' formed the structure of Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud'. "The Defendants copied the 'heart' of 'Let's' and repeated it continuously throughout 'Thinking,'" the lawsuit said. "The melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions of 'Thinking' are substantially and/or strikingly similar to the drum composition of 'Let's.'" Grammy Award-winning Sheeran has become one of Britain's top-selling artists in the past two years, and has written and co-written tracks for artists such as One Direction, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. The lawsuit came two months after California-based musicians sued Sheeran for $20 million over his hit song 'Photograph' in an unrelated case. Gaye's family last year successfully sued R&B recording artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement in another unrelated case over their hit single 'Blurred Lines', winning a $7.4 million judgement. (Reuters)

Ed Sheeran to face courtroom music over 'Thinking Out Loud'