High stakes for Ed Sheeran in courtroom copyright battle

The stakes are high for Ed Sheeran this week in a Manhattan courtroom.

The family of the late Ed Townsend claim that the 32-year-old English singer’s 2014 hit song Thinking Out Loud infringes the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hit Let’s Get it On – which Townsend co-wrote.

At the centre of the issue is a four-chord sequence and rhythm. Sheeran and his co-writer Amy Wadge reject the claim in its entirety.

But this isn’t the first time Sheeran has been accused of copying another artist’s work. In the high-profile celebrity trial, Sheeran has picked up his guitar and played to prove his point that many songs share the same four-chord “building blocks” while the prosecution has pointed to a “smoking gun” video, a clip from a concert where he sang Thinking Out Loud before segueing into Gaye’s classic hit, Let’s Get it On.

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For Sheeran the trial is about more than money – he has said he is so disgusted with the claim that he copied another artist’s work that if found by the New York trial jury to be guilty, he will quit the music business.

Music journalist Zara Hedderman teases out the prosecution’s case, the defence, and the major implications for other songwriters. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.