Ed Sheeran Says He'll Quit Music If He Loses Copyright Case

Ed Sheeran has promised to quit the music industry if he is found guilty of plagiarism.

The 32-year-old musician is currently in a legal battle with the Marvin Gaye estate, which alleges that his 2015 track "Thinking Out Loud" copied Gaye's hit "Let's Get It On."

Sheeran has denied the claims and took to the stand in a Manhattan court last week, where he vowed to be "done" with music if found guilty. He stated, "If that happens, I'm done, I'm stopping."

The 'Shape of You' singer continued, "I find it really insulting to devote my entire life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it."

Townsend's heirs are suing Sheeran on the grounds that the songs have "striking similarities." They are requesting an enormous $100 million in compensation.

Last week, attorneys representing Townsend's heirs showed a video of Sheeran switching effortlessly between the songs "Thinking Out Loud" and "Let's Get it On" during a live performance at the Manhattan federal court.

They claimed that doing so amounted to a confession that he had plagiarized the song.

However, Sheeran claimed in court on Monday that he regularly performs "mash-ups" with other musicians and that he has previously mixed Van Morrison's "Crazy in Love" and Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" with his song "Thinking Out Loud."

"At many shows, I mix songs. The chords in many songs are similar. You can go between "Let It Be" and "No Woman No Cry" and then back again," he said.

And very simply, he continued, "I'd be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that if I'd done what you're accusing me of doing."

He also mentioned how Irish musician Van Morrison served as the true inspiration for his popular song.

The artist utilized his interpretation of Morrison songs like "Tupelo Honey" and "Crazy Love" to demonstrate his claim by strumming the four-chord pattern he is accused of stealing from "Let's Get it On."

The artist also criticized musicologist Alexander Stewart, the plaintiff's expert witness, for claiming last week that the first 24 seconds of "Thinking Out Loud" were comparable to the opening of "Let's Get it On."

Stewart noted melodic resemblances in the verse, chorus, and interlude while asserting in court that they "have the same harmonic rhythm."