Music may lose serial hitmaker Ed Sheeran if he loses the copyright trial related to his 2015 smash hit, “Thinking Out Loud.”
The ongoing trial pertains to a lawsuit filed against Sheeran by a co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s classic tune “Let’s Get It On.”
The plagiarism lawsuit stems from all the way back in 2016 when it was first filed, but the court proceedings are just now taking place.
Sheeran has vehemently denied the plagiarism claims and has now apparently threatened to quit music altogether if he loses the trial.
“If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,” Sheeran said in court on Monday (May 1), according to the Daily Mail.
He explained, “I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it.”
READ MORE: Ed Sheeran Says He Doesn’t See the Point in Music Reviews
Apparently, the lawsuit alleges that Sheeran and his co-writer, Amy Wadge, copied the rhythm of the soulful 1973 song while creating “Thinking Out Loud,” a ballad that has been cemented in history as a frequent wedding song.
The lawsuit also alleges that the two copied a four-chord sequence from “Let’s Get It On” and claims there are “striking similarities,” per NME.
They are reportedly asking for some $100 million in restitution from Sheeran, according to the Daily Mail.
After being accused of “confessing” to copying Gaye through song mash-ups (via The Associated Press), Sheeran also previously added while on the stand that he would be “an idiot” to perform plagiarized music in front of stadiums of fans.
“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. 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 said.
NME also noted that Sheeran said, “It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for 100s of years.”