Sheeran copyright battle could stoke songwriting paranoia

Sheeran copyright battle could stoke songwriting paranoia

Ed Sheeran leaves after testifying over copyright infringement claim at the Manhattan federal court in New York on April 25, 2023
Ed Sheeran leaves after testifying over copyright infringement claim at the Manhattan federal court in New York on April 25, 2023. Photo: Kena Betancur / AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

Ed Sheeran is preparing for a blockbuster tour and album release amid regular trips to Manhattan's federal court, where he's defending his songwriting in a closely watched copyright case.

The trial centers on whether the British pop phenom plagiarized Marvin Gaye's 1973 soul classic "Let's Get It On" in his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud."

The heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote Gaye's smash, are behind the civil suit, and allege "striking similarities and overt common elements" between the songs.

It's the latest in a series of high-profile music copyright cases that have the industry on edge, leaving some songwriters paranoid about their own creative processes and vulnerability to litigation.

Sheeran, 32, has spent days testifying with guitar in hand, playing demos for the court to prove the 1-3-4-5 chord progression that's primarily in question is a basic building block of pop music that can't be owned.

Read also

Building 'Mad Max' vehicles for Ukraine's fighters

His legal team argues that Gaye and Townsend were far from the first to record it, citing, for example, a number of Van Morrison songs that use the sequence and that were released prior to "Let's Get It On."

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

It's a notion echoed by forensic musicologist Joe Bennett.

Kathryn Townsend Griffin (L), daughter of songwriter Ed Townsend, leaves the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on April 25, 2023 for the copyright infringement claim against British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran
Kathryn Townsend Griffin (L), daughter of songwriter Ed Townsend, leaves the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on April 25, 2023 for the copyright infringement claim against British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. Photo: Kena Betancur / AFP/File
Source: AFP

"The world I want to live in is one where nobody sues anyone for a one- or two-bar melodic or harmonic similarity, because those similarities can so easily occur through coincidence," the professor at Massachusetts' Berklee College of Music told AFP.

"They shouldn't be protectable by copyright."

The case hinges on the actual composition of the songs rather than the recorded versions -- think sheet music, not vibes.

In theory that's a specificity that could help Sheeran's case, but once a music copyright suit reaches the point of jury trial, anything can happen.

Read also

Hollywood writers strike looms as deadline nears

Winning demands significant funding and resources, and defendants are beholden to the volatility of opinions from jury members who almost certainly don't have a background in musicology.

Both sides have hired expert witnesses to explain the technical details to jurors, but, of course, their conclusions differ significantly.

"If you play music to a jury, it could go either way," Bennett said.

'Chilling effect'

British singer Ed Sheeran arrives for the premiere of the Disney+ music docu-series "Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All" at The Times Center in New York City on May 2, 2023
British singer Ed Sheeran arrives for the premiere of the Disney+ music docu-series "Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All" at The Times Center in New York City on May 2, 2023. Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Source: AFP

There have been a handful of landmark music copyright cases in recent years, notably in 2016 when Gaye's family -- who is not part of the New York lawsuit against Sheeran -- successfully sued the artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over similarities between the song "Blurred Lines" and Gaye's "Got to Give it Up."

The result surprised many in the industry, including legal experts, who considered many of the musical components cited as foundational, and existing largely in the public domain.

Shortly thereafter an appeals court decision confirmed Led Zeppelin's victory over a similar case centered on the classic "Stairway to Heaven" -- a boon for songwriters.

Read also

'Zombie' misinformation: 'Rape Day' hoax resurfaces on TikTok

"One reason that this Ed Sheeran case may be really important to the industry is that it's a data point that would show well is the pendulum actually back on the other side, or are we just going back and forth?" said Joseph Fishman, a law professor specialized in intellectual property at Vanderbilt University.

"If it's going back and forth, that could still have a chilling effect on how songwriters write, because you never know -- is my case going to be the one?"

And unintended infringement is a weak defense: in 1976, George Harrison was found liable for "subconsciously" plagiarizing "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons for his first solo hit "My Sweet Lord."

In his memoir Harrison later wrote that he suffered a "paranoia about songwriting that had started to build up in me."

Ed Sheeran performs on stage during the MTV Europe Music Awards at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary on November 14, 2021
Ed Sheeran performs on stage during the MTV Europe Music Awards at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary on November 14, 2021. Photo: Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP/File
Source: AFP

This week Sheeran told the court that fellow songwriters have told him "you have to win this for us" adding with a tone of exasperation that if the Townsend estate prevails, "I'm done."

Read also

Apple and Amazon 'committed' to big screen, says theaters boss

"I find it really insulting to work my whole life... and have someone diminish it by saying that I stole it," Sheeran said on the stand Monday.

Bennett said many of his students at Berklee -- a prestigious conservatory of contemporary music -- have voiced concern over the Sheeran case, speaking as the next generation of songwriters.

One of them, 21-year-old Mary Jo Swank, told AFP that "I've definitely grown a fear that the idea of being completely original and unique is going to put the emotional and creative process of a songwriter in jeopardy."

"It'd be nice if I'd be allowed to write my take on a 1-3-4-5 progression without having to worry that it's not unique enough."

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.