Ed Sheeran can add another achievement to his list of accolades – winning the copyright infringement case against the estate of the late Ed Townsend, co-writer of the 1973 R&B classic Let’s Get It On with Marvin Gaye.
The copyright lawsuit against the singer was first brought against him in 2018 due to the alleged similarity of melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation, and looping in his hit song Shape of You, explains ABC News.
However, the jury, which deliberated for less than three hours, could not find the similarity and reached a decision in Ed’s favour.
In an interview with CBS News, the songwriter said, “There’s four chords that get used in pop songs, and there’s however many notes – eight notes or whatever – and there’s 60,000 songs released every single day.”
He continued, “And if you just think mathematically the likelihood of this song having the same chords as this song … you are going to get this with every single pop song from now on – like, unless it just stops, which I don’t think it does because it’s a big money business to take things to court.”
He also told the publication, “I just think it comes with the territory.” He added, “When they say there’s a hit, there’s a writ – it’s true. Every single hit.”
Days after the trial, on 10 May, Ed performed live at the Eventim Apollo in London, England, to showcase his acclaimed new album (pronounced ‘subtract’) in full for the first time. He performed alongside a 12-piece band, which included Aaron Dessner of The National.
The performance kicked off season 2 of Apple Music Live, a series that gives the biggest stars in music a stage to connect with audiences around the world.
“I’m really excited. I think it’s going to be a really beautiful night. I think it’ll probably be one of the best shows I’ve ever played for so many reasons,” said Ed in an interview with Matt Wilkinson.
Ed’s performance will become available to stream on-demand on both Apple Music and Apple TV+.
Watch the trailer below.
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