Ed Sheeran sued for ‘Thinking out loud’

Singer and song writer Ed Sheeran is currently facing a copyright lawsuit with reference to his music ‘Thinking out loud’. The heirs of of singer, songwriter and producer Ed Townsend, who co-wrote Marvin Gaye’s 1973 soul staple “Let’s Get It On”,filed a suit against Ed Sheeran on Tuesday in the Federal court in the Southern District of New York. Ed Townsend and  Marvin Gaye co-wrote the song. Townsend’s heirs are now suing Sheeran and they are claiming that Ed Sheeran has lifted key parts of the classic song and used them in ‘Thinking out loud’. The song in dispute is ‘Thinking out loud’ and this song has been written by Ed Sheeran along with Amy Wadge. Amy Wadge and the song’s producer, Jake Gosling, as well as Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Atlantic Records and Warner Music Group have also been made party to the lawsuit. The song was released by Atlantic Records and published by Sony/ATV.

The plaintiffs have claimed that both the writers have stolen the heart of their song and also copied the rhythm as well. It is important to note that the listeners have been able to identify similarities between the two tracks in the past. Various comments on social media sites stand testimony to the existing resemblance. They also have alleged that the drum composition of both the songs have striking similarity. The song ‘Thinking out loud’ is a well-known song and was the first ever song to remain on the U.K Top 40 for completely one year.  This particular song was also streamed for more than 500 million times on Spotify. Ed  Sheeran has also been awarded two Grammy awards for “Thinking Out Loud,” for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. This is not the first time that the singer has faced allegations of copyright infringement.

In June, this year he faced a $20 million suit by song writers who wrote the song ‘Amazing’ for Matt Cardle. However, it is interesting to note that Ed Sheeran has not released any statement in this regard. Marvin Gaye’s family have recently  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 judgment.

Source :1 

Authored By Sudha Sameekshya

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