Trial Of Ed Sheeran For Pilfering Marvin Gaye Hit Starts

Jury selection and opening statements are set to begin Monday (Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in Manila), in a trial that mashes up Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” with Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” Andrew Dalton and Larry Neumeister reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer of the 1973 soul classic, sued Sheeran, alleging the English pop star’s hit 2014 tune has “striking similarities” to “Let’s Get It On” and “overt common elements” that violate their copyright.

The heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer of the 1973 soul classic, sued Sheeran, alleging the English pop star’s hit 2014 tune has “striking similarities” to “Let’s Get It On” and “overt common elements” that violate their copyright.

The lawsuit filed in 2017 has finally made it to a trial that is expected to last a week in the Manhattan federal courtroom of 95-year-old Judge Louis L. Stanton. Sheeran, 32, is expected to testify.

His lawyers have said the songs’ structural symmetry points only to the foundations of popular music.

“Let’s Get It On” is the quintessential, sexy slow jam that’s been heard in countless films and commercials and garnered hundreds of millions of streams, spins and radio plays over the past 50 years.

“Thinking Out Loud,” which won a Grammy for Song of the Year, is a much more marital take on love and sex.

While the jury will hear the recordings of both songs, Jurors are supposed to only consider the raw elements of melody, harmony, and rhythm that make up the composition of “Let’s Get It On,” as documented on sheet music filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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