By: Natasha Archary

British singer and songwriter, Ed Sheeran says he will quit music if he is found guilty of copyright infringement.
This after Marvin Gaye’s songwriter Ed Townsend, launched a lawsuit against the Perfect hitmaker, for allegedly copying the late icon’s classic “Let’s Get It On.”
Sheeran is being accused of using “the heart” of Gaye’s 1973 classic to put together his 2014 hit, Thinking Out Loud.
While the lyrics to both songs are completely different, Townsend claims Sheeran unlawfully used the harmonic progressions and melodic, rhythmic elements to complete his track.
Townsend further accuses Sheeran of copying those elements and repeating them continuously throughout Thinking Out Loud.
Sheeran’s 2014 hit is one of his most popular love songs, which is often used as an opening dance for couples on their wedding day.
The lawsuit which was filed on 11 July 2017 insists that Sheeran’s song is not unique, original or protectable.
What do you think? Are there similarities between the songs? Listen to the conversation on Kaya Drive:
Not the first copyright lawsuit launched by the Marvin Gaye Foundation
This isn’t the first copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the Marvin Gaye Foundation.
In 2015, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were found guilty of copying Gaye’s Got To Give It Up, with their hit Blurred Lines.
The duo were ordered to cough up more than $5 million to Gaye’s family.
Ed Sheeran will quit music if guilty of copyright infringement
The 32-year old singer says if the court finds that he is guilty of copyright infringement, he will quit music because he finds the entire accusation insulting.
When asked how he feels about the lawsuit, Sheeran told his lawyer, Ilene Farkas that this is just a ploy to diminish his success.
“I find it to be really insulting. If that happens, I’m done. I’m stopping. Thinking Out Loud was a very collaborative process between my co-writer, Wedge and myself.
I was inspired after hearing Wedge mumbling the chords as he got ready for dinner. He said we had to write a song to them.
If a song takes longer than a day, it’s not worth pursuing.”
Thinking Out Loud was inspired by Sheeran’s personal life, after his grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and his grandfather had passed.
Also read: Slikour to release his memoir: The Life of a Hip-Hop Pioneer



