Ed Sheeran Hit With A $100 Million Lawsuit Over “Thinking Out Loud”

Mike Nied | June 28, 2018 2:39 pm

Ed Sheeran has been hit by a $100 million lawsuit over his 2014 single, “Thinking Out Loud.” The suit, filed by Structured Asset Sales, is over perceived similarities between the track and Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic “Let’s Get It On.” The company owns one-third of the copyright to the sexy single. They purchased it after co-writer Edward Townsend passed away in 2003. According to TMZ, their suit alleges the two songs share the “same melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bassline, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping.”

The single picked up two Grammys in 2016 and has been streamed more than 1.1 billion times on Spotify. Its accompanying video has been viewed more than 2.3 billion times on YouTube, and it just missed out on the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Ed has not yet responded to news of the legal moves, but this is not the first time he has been involved in a court case over the song. In 2016, Townsend’s estate filed a suit of their own. They alleged that “Thinking Out Loud” was built around the “heart” of “Let’s Get It On.” Last week TMZ reported that the crooner finally responded and fought back against these allegations.

There is no word on whether the Gaye family will file a suit of their own. The estate famously sued Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. over perceived similarities between “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up” after the track dropped in 2013. The courts ruled in their favor in what proved to be a landmark case for musical copyright claims. Listen to the two tracks below and decide if there is any validity to the argument.

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