Ed Sheeran Says He Will Quit Music If Found Guilty In Marvin Gaye Plagiarism Trial

Ed Sheeran has vowed to quit music if he is found guilty of plagiarising Marvin Gaye’s soul classic ‘Let’s get it on,’.

The 32-year-old Grammy winner is being sued by the family of songwriter Ed Townsend, who co-created the 1973 hit claim Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge stole chord progressions for their 2014 chart topper ‘Thinking Out Loud,’.

Sheeran who is currently in New York to testify in the case said: “If that happens, I’m done. I’m stopping… To have someone come in and say, ‘We don’t believe you, you must have stole it’… [I] find insulting… I find it really insulting to work my whole life as a singer-songwriter and diminish it.”

Sheeran further argued that any similarities heard in the songs are likely basic music ‘building blocks’ that are ineligible for copyright protection. 

This is not the first a Marvin Gaye song has landed an artist in court. Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had a similar copyright battle over their 2013 song “Blurred Lines”, eventually paying out almost $5 million to Marvin Gaye’s estate in the case’s final ruling.