My 2 Cents on the Ed Sheeran "Thinking Out Loud" verdict ...

Copyright infringement is an extremely tricky subject when it comes to music creation. In today's world, a "music maker" has to pay close attention to the landscape and even if you can create a hit song, you have to be careful that your song wasn't heavily "inspired" by someone else's music.

Copyright infringement occurs when someone uses a copyrighted work, such as a song, without the permission of the owner. This can include making copies of the song, distributing the song without permission, or using the song in a way that violates the terms of the copyright. There can be serious consequences for both artists and record labels. An artist can lose revenue from sales and royalties, or a label may lose revenue from licensing and distribution deals.

Publicized Copyright Infringement Cases

Similar to what we've seen in the news lately, copyright infringement can also lead to legal action. Let's take a look at a few publicized cases ...

1. In 2016, a jury found that Led Zeppelin did not copy the opening riff of their iconic song "Stairway to Heaven" from a lesser-known 1968 song called "Taurus" by the band Spirit. The lawsuit was brought by the estate of Spirit's late guitarist, who claimed that Zeppelin had lifted the riff without permission.
   
   
2. In 2017, Taylor Swift released her hit song "Look What You Made Me Do," which featured a prominent interpolation of the melody from the 1991 song "I'm Too Sexy" by the band Right Said Fred. An interpolation is when a portion of one song is used in a new composition.
   
   Rather than risk a copyright infringement lawsuit, Swift and her team proactively reached out to Right Said Fred and offered them a percentage of the royalties from "Look What You Made Me Do." According to reports, Swift's team recognized the similarities between the two songs and wanted to ensure that they had the proper permissions and licenses in place to avoid any legal issues.
   
   
3. Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby": In 1990, rapper Vanilla Ice was sued for copyright infringement over his hit song "Ice Ice Baby." The lawsuit alleged that the song's bass line was lifted from the 1981 song "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie. Vanilla Ice eventually settled the lawsuit out of court.
   
   
4. Sam Smith's "Stay with Me": In 2015, Sam Smith was accused of copyright infringement over his song "Stay with Me," which was alleged to have similarities to Tom Petty's 1989 song "I Won't Back Down." Smith and his co-writers eventually settled the lawsuit with Petty and awarded him a share of the song's royalties.
   
   
5. Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud": In 2016, Ed Sheeran was sued for copyright infringement over his song "Thinking Out Loud." The lawsuit claimed that the song copied elements of Marvin Gaye's 1973 song "Let's Get It On." Ed Sheeran's team won the case May 4th, 2023. Let's talk about it...

The Chord Progression

Both Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud and Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On use the I - iii - IV - V chord progression through much of the song (Meaning root chord - 3rd note minor chord - 4th note major chord - and 5th note major or dominant chord). While it does make these two songs sound similar, they are not in the same key of music and the chord progression itself is common in music. 

One of the most common chord progressions in popular music is I - vi - VI - V (think of "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King). The I - iii - IV - V chord progression saw it's popularity grow in the 1960s when artists began using the iii chord as an alternative to the minor 6th (vi) chord (now think of "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by Mama Cass Elliot of the Mamas & Papas). 

The chord progression used by both Marvin Gaye and Ed Sheeran's songs is not so unique that it can be used as a contributing factor and references where made through the media coverage of this lawsuit that it could be the equivalent of trying to copyright the color blue.

Check out my YouTube short video showing some of the songs that also use a similar chord progression.

The Implications of Ed Sheeran's Win

As I am not a lawyer or copyright expert, I feel that is important to show an additional resource for this. Basically, because Ed Sheeran won the case, it helped to hold a line in the sand regarding an artists rights to create their own music, keeping the current status quo. Had Ed Sheeran not won the case, it could have set a precedent for any music that uses a similar chord structure as a song that came before it. Ed Sheeran himself said during the trial that if he does not win the case, he might give up music entirely.

The New York Times shared a great short article outlining the main results that came from the case. You can read it here.

Final Thought

This victory for Ed Sheeran is a big win for young up-and-coming artists who have music they want to share with the world. I don't know about you, but I am going to keep making music.

Thanks for reading. Best of luck to you.

Danny