After a decade-long legal battle, in which Ed Sheeran was accused by several parties of plagiarising the 1973 Marvin Gaye hit ‘Let’s Get It On’, the US courts ruled in Sheeran’s favour.

The first claim came from the family of American singer-songwriter Ed Townsend, who co-wrote ‘Let’s Get It On’, in 2014, accusing both Sheeran and Wadge of plagiarism, seeking £73 million in damages. The family’s case was based on the two songs having a similar chord pattern, and while Sheeran’s team acknowledged that was the case, they argued that these chords were “building blocks” for pop music, and many songs have used the same syncopated chord pattern long before Gaye’s 1973 record. In 2023, a New York court ruled in Sheeran’s favour, the judge asserting that ‘Thinking Out Loud’ was “independently created”. To celebrate the ruling, both Wadge and Sheeran got matching tattoos of the quote.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Amy Wadge (@wadge1975)

Speaking to reporters about the case, and his decision to fight rather than to settle, Sheeran said: “I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake.”

A second lawsuit arose in 2018, this time initiated by Structured Asset Sales (SAS), another partial co-owner of Gaye’s royalties from ‘Let’s Get It On’, founded and run by investment banker David Pullman. They sued both Wadge and Sheeran separately, but the claims were quickly dismissed in court, leading to a series of appeals launched by SAS. They appealed to the Supreme Court in March, but the case was dismissed this Monday (16 June), with the same reasoning used in the 2018 verdict: The chords in Gaye’s record are too commonplace in pop to have legal protection.

Speaking to the New York-based Second US Circuit Court of Appeals, judge Michael Park commented: “No reasonable jury could find that the two songs, taken as a whole, are substantially similar in light of their dissimilar melodies and lyrics.”

In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Amy Wadge weighs in on the verdict: “The absolute truth is that song changed my life. I didn’t have a hit until I was 37 and that was the one.

For MXDWN’s coverage about Ed Sheeran’s upcoming shows in Ipswich, click here.

This instalment of his radio show is set to begin on 17th September, with the show running from 10pm-12pm on Sunday nights. In a press release, Murphy said that he will “share songs from all corners of his record collection and share why they hold a special place in his life.”

We’re thrilled to announce that Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition returns to 6 Music on Sundays, 10pm-12am from 17th September

His weekly nocturnal playlist sees Cillian explore music from all corners of his record collection & share why they hold a special place in his life. pic.twitter.com/s4a1zRG8Sz

— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) September 1, 2023

Murphy has previously hosted two instalments of Limited Edition in 2020 and 2021, and he has shared his excitement to return. In an interview on BBC Radio 6 with Nemone, Murphy shared, “It’s been a while, but I am thrilled to be back playing tunes on 6 Music, my favourite radio station in the world. The show will be a sound collage of new, old and limited edition tunes for your discerning ears. Can’t wait.”

Listen to the full interview with Murphy here, 1 hour and 35 minutes into the programme.

In his previous instalments of Limited Edition, Murphy has showcased his eclectic music taste, featuring artists from Carly Simon and Marvin Gaye to Pixies and Nina Simone. He shared his interest in music with NME, discussing his band, The Sons of Mr Green Genes that he formed with his brother.

Named after a Frank Zappa song, they put together experimental songs filled with “wacky lyrics and endless guitar solos.”

Speaking on why he didn’t pursue a career in music, Murphy said, “I just never thought that I was good enough really. I like to do one thing quite well.”

Despite his self-deprecating comments, The Sons of Mr Green Genes were offered a five-album deal by Acid Jazz Records, based in London. He and his brother turned the record deal down however, citing artistic independence as their main reason.

Murphy’s return to BBC Radio 6 will mean a change in its current scheduling. The BBC confirmed that Don Letts will move his Culture Clash Radio show to Saturday nights from 9pm-11pm. Letts currently hosts his show in the slot that Cillian Murphy will be taking over from 17th September.

Letts’ show will replace The Blessed Madonna’s Saturday evening show, who recently made the “gutting decision” to lessen her work schedule amidst touring and recording.

These changes follow the news that Steve Lamacq will be stepping down from his Radio 6 show after 18 years.

Listen to BBC Radio 6 live here.

Recent studies have brought about a paradigm shift in our understanding of homophily and forming connections. With the speed up of neuro tech and advanced neuroimaging techniques in the recent years, scientists have been able to achieve major breakthroughs and measure brain activity from two or more individuals simultaneously. One of the neurobiological underpinnings they have discovered is that people with similar personality traits are more likely to have the same taste in music.

This new study was conducted by Cambridge academic Dr David Greenberg. Greenberg is a psychologist, behavioural scientist, and musician. He is the founder of the Musical Universe project, which is a scientific platform that uses masses of data to advance knowledge and improve lives across cultures. Greenberg has developed multiple scientific tests on musical engagement and his research has examined music at the intersection of social science, neuroscience, genetics, and clinical treatment. Greenberg’s recent study investigated the relationship between musical preferences and our personality. The study involved more than 350,000 participants from over 50 countries and 6 continents, discovering that the link between musical preferences and personality are universal.

Greenberg does not seek to pigeonhole music-lovers, and has said: “If people who score high for neuroticism, for example, are being fed more intense music and they’re already feeling stressed and frustrated, is that helping with their anxiety or is it just reinforcing and perpetuating? These are the questions we now need to answer. Musical preferences do shift and change, they are not set in stone. And we are not suggesting that someone is just extroverted or just open.We all have combinations of personality traits and combinations of musical preferences of varying strengths. Our findings are based on averages and we have to start somewhere to begin to see and understand connections.”

Why wait? Let’s change the world now through music! I’m honored that @DiscoverMag wrote a featured article showing the social power of music and the unique role of personality. #musicscience #musictherapy #psychology @BarIlanU @Cambridge_Uni https://t.co/WeFLMFDBtn

— Dr. David Greenberg (@greenbergmusic) April 27, 2022

Some of the eye-opening findings include: “Ed Sheeran’s song ‘Shivers’ is as likely to appeal to extraverts living the UK as those living Argentina or India. Those with neurotic traits in the US are as likely to be into Nirvana’s ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’ as people with a similar personality living in Denmark or South Africa. Agreeable people all over the world will tend to like Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’, or Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s ‘Shallow’. National borders cannot stop open people from replaying David Bowie’s Space Oddity or Nina Simone. It does not matter where a conscientious person lives, they are unlikely to enjoy Rage Against the Machine.”

Greenberg hopes for future research to test the links between music and personality in real-world settings as a way of seeing how music can be a bridge between people from different cultures around the globe.

Read more about the findings from the study here.

Listen to a podcast featuring Greenberg discussing what are music taste says about us here.

Since the US has very specific rules in terms of copyright and new music registration, Townsend had to start a new legal battle, involving a newly registered version of ‘Let’s Get It On’ and its music sheets. Judge Abrams commented the accusation: ‘it allows the court to reasonably infer that plaintiff has ownership of the 2020 copyright’, confirming the song as being eligible for a copyright lawsuit. The Judge added: ‘The court concludes that the 2020 registration sufficiently alleges plaintiff’s beneficial ownership in that copyright for purposes of this motion, and that the registration’s incorporation of new musical elements precludes a finding that plaintiff’s two suits are duplicative.’

Hence, Abrams found potential to review the alleged overlap with the 1973 Marvin Gaye composition – as well as acknowledging the similarities between the previous lawsuits and this litigation – and ruled out to put the case on hold. On the other side, Sheeran’s lawyers and Sony representatives still haven’t commented on these events, with the prosecution asking for up to $100 million in damages.

Released in 2014, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ culminated at number 2 on Billboard Hot 100 in February 2015, winning a Grammy award for the Song of the Year and being nominated for Record of the Year and Best Solo Pop Performance. On the other hand, in 1973 Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On’ peaked at number two for US’s Billboard Top LPs, and number 1 for Billboard Soul LPs.

The new album, You’ve Always Been Here, comprises of 11 covers, from Matt Bellamy’s fragment of ‘We’ll Meet Again’ to the wall of sound that is ‘Love’s Gone Bad’. The group carries Northern Soul into a new dimension, full of electric guitars, feedback, and the combined talent of musicians at the very top of their game.

View this post on Instagram

YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE IS OUT NOW We hope you all love it! Grateful for all your support up until this moment. Buy your copy of #YouveAlwaysBeenHere through the link in our bio!

A post shared by The Jaded Hearts Club (@thejadedheartsclub) on Oct 2, 2020 at 1:45am PDT

In case you missed it, The Jaded Hearts Club are a supergroup in every single sense of the word. They have the most stellar line-up – Miles Kane (The Last Shadow Puppets) and Nic Cester (Jet) as joint frontmen, Graham Coxon (Blur) and Jamie Davis playing guitar, Matt Bellamy (Muse) on bass and Sean Payne (the Zutons) as the drummer. Sometimes Abi Harding (The Zutons) joins them on the saxophone.

To prove it, The Jaded Hearts Club released a series of singles leading up to this release: ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ (see below), ‘This Love Starved Heart Of Mine (It’s Killing Me)’ and ‘Love’s Gone Bad’. It seems fair to say that all the energy and glamour of The Jaded Hearts Club is found among these three singles; while the rest of the album tracks are exciting, they don’t have the explosive enthusiasm of their early singles. They come with energetic, lockdown-appropriate, black-and-white music videos, and Matt Bellamy in different but equally intriguing Rule Britannia-esque accessories. It’s all very, very cool.

Following these, You’ve Always Been Here has the best intentions in the world. The band’s desire to reinvent Northern Soul is overpowering and infectious, and you can sense how eager they were to find out what their combined talents could do. A lot, is the answer. Sometimes it completely hits the mark. Sometimes, though, it falls flat, stripping the covers of their unique qualities, leaving behind something that is undeniably very talented, but a little soulless.

Ultimately the album is technically impressive, but it wants for a sense of cohesion. In many ways so does the group themselves; the six (sometimes seven) strong and talented personalities sort of blur together. There is absolutely no doubt that this group could tackle any song in the world with spades of ability, but You’ve Always Been Here could probably have done with a bit more of a story. The Jaded Hearts Club are easily the greatest cover band in the world, but we don’t quite know what makes them tick.

All three of the album’s singles are particular highlights, as are Nic Cester’s ‘Long and Lonesome Road’ and ‘I Put a Spell on You’. To my mind, this is the version of the line-up which delivers the most. Nic Cester doing the vocals, accompanied by powerful percussion and the familiar wind instruments of Northern Soul feels like the group’s greatest strength – and where they’re strong, they’re unstoppable.

Since 2017, the group have shared powerful, covers of everything from the Beatles (their starting point) to The Isley Brothers. According to Rough Trade, Davis wanted a Beatles band to play for his birthday. He’s quoted as saying: “I knew a bunch of 1/2 decent musician friends so I asked if they’d form an early ‘60s Beatles band. Everyone had such a good time that we decided to do it again.” Their website declares that they “have been described as the ultimate Beatles cover band.”

Surely, in one of those dream dinner party games (six people on your ideal dinner table, dead or alive, you know the drill) you couldn’t come up with a better line-up. What we really want from The Jaded Hearts Club, though, is a bit of purpose – we all know that there’s a niche for them in this current moment, but none of us know why. When they do show us exactly what 21^st century Northern Soul can do, it’s completely unforgettable.

Sheeran’s request to dismiss the lawsuit, which accuses him of ripping off the 1973 song, was rejected by District Judge, Louis Stanton, in Manhattan. In a decision, made public on Thursday, Stanton said that there were “substantial similarities between several of the two works’ musical elements,” which includes the bass lines and percussion of both tracks.

Alongside the “similarities” between the two songs, Judge Stanton also referenced performances of Sheeran “seamlessly transitioning between [the songs]”, to support the reasoning for the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was brought by the estate and heirs of late producer Ed Townsend, who co-wrote ‘Let’s Get It On’ with Gaye. It names Sheeran, his co-writer Amy Padge, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, and the Atlantic record label, as defendants. However, Sheeran, 27, denies copying Gaye’s classic song.

The defence argued that, Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ was a “sexual anthem”, while ‘Thinking Out Loud’ was characterised by “sombre, melancholic tones, addressing long-lasting romantic love.” ‘Thinking Out Loud’ reached number one in the UK singles charts, in November 2014, while ‘Let’s Get It On’ hit number one in the US, in September 1973.

As well as the “substantial similarities” between the two songs, Judge Stanton ruled it was disputed whether the harmonic rhythm of ‘Let’s Get It On’ is too common to deserve copyright protect or whether Sheeran instead violated its copyright. Despite this, the Judge Stanton said listeners could view them as having the same “aesthetic appeal”.

Judge Stanton is also presiding over Sheeran’s second lawsuit alleging Sheeran copied ‘Let’s Get It On’. In the second case Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which owns one-third of Townsend’s estate, is suing for $100m (£79m).

Meanwhile, 2017 Sheeran settled a $20m copyright infringement claim against him in the US, over his hit song ‘Photograph’. Songwriters Thomas Leonard and Martin Harrington sued the singer, in 2016, claiming his hit ballad had a similar structure to their song ‘Amazing’.

In 2017, the team behind TLC’s 1999 single ‘No Scrubs’ were given writing credits on Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You‘. This came after critics and fans made comparisons between elements of the songs.