Ed Sheeran vows to quit music if found guilty of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On’

Ed Sheeran vows to quit music if found guilty of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On’.

‘If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,’ Sheeran said when asked by his attorney Ilene Farkas about the toll the trial is taking on him.

‘I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,’ the ‘Shape of You’ singer added.

Sheeran is being sued by Townsend’s heirs, who claim there are ‘striking similarities’ between the tracks. They are seeking a whopping $100million in restitution.

At the Manhattan federal court last week, lawyers for Townsend’s heirs displayed a video of Sheeran transitioning seamlessly between ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Let’s Get it On’ during a live performance.

Doing so, they said, amounted to a confession that he had ripped off the song.

But in court on Monday, Sheeran said he and other performers frequently perform ‘mash ups,’ and that he had on other occasions combined ‘Thinking Out Loud’ with Van Morrison’s ‘Crazy in Love’ and Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You.’

‘I mash up songs at lots of gigs. Many songs have similar chords. You can go from “Let It Be” to “No Woman No Cry” and switch back,’ he said.

‘And quite frankly, if I’d done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that,’ he added.

Denying the charge, the British singer-songwriter promised that if the jury found him guilty, he will quit music.

Mr. Sheeran said to his lawyer Irene Farkas, “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping. I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it”.

Mr. Townsend’s heirs are seeking $100 million in restitution. Sheeran also said that he ‘can’t read music’ and that he’s ‘not classically trained in anything’ because ‘when inspiration hits, you get excited, and it just comes out.’

Repurposing music, rhythms, and melodies in the entertainment industry is nothing new. The singer also hit out at the plaintiff’s expert witness, musicologist Alexander Stewart, who argued last week that the first 24 seconds of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ were similar to the beginning of ‘Let’s Get it On.’ 

Stewart said in court that they ‘have the same harmonic rhythm’ while pointing out melodic similarities in the verse, chorus and interlude. 

A computer generated version of Let’s Get it On was played in court during Stewart’s testimony, which took up all of the proceedings on Wednesday.

Insider reported that laughter broke out in the courtroom as the computer-generated version of Let’s Get it On was played to highlight the similarities between the tracks.

But in transcribing the song, Sheeran said, Stewart had altered it to make the chords and melody sound more like Gaye’s song.

‘If I have to be honest, what he’s doing here is criminal,’ Sheeran said. ‘I don’t know why he’s allowed to be an expert.’

Of course, Sheeran fans will know that the musician uses his platform to highlight mental health challenges and to talk about his creative process when creating music.

Sheeran also shared that he’ll be releasing a new album on 5 May… we hope it won’t be his last. Last week, lawyers for Mr. Townsend’s heirs showed a video of Mr. Sheeran seamlessly transitioning between ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Let’s Get it On’ in a live performance they said amounted to a confession that he ripped off the song.

Mr. Sheeran, on the other hand, said he and other singers routinely execute similar mash-ups, and that he had previously blended ‘Thinking Out Loud’ with Van Morrison’s ‘Crazy Love’ and Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You’