Is anything original? Ed Sheeran is fighting allegations of plagiarism in court this week over a hit 2014 tune. But some say our fixation on originality does more harm than good.
'I'd be an idiot to copy Marvin Gaye'
Is anything original? Ed Sheeran is fighting allegations of plagiarism in court this week over a hit 2014 tune. But some say our fixation on originality does more harm than good.
Origi-banality?
"You found me ripping the writtens out of the pages they sit in, and never once I get bitten because plagiarism is hidden," raps Ed Sheeran in his song Take It Back.
But the hitmaker has been bitten a few times as of late. In 2016, he was struck with a copyright claim for his single Photograph. In 2022, he won a court case against Sami Switch, who accused him of plagiarism in his wildly successful song Shape Of You. And now, he is being brought back in front of a jury over his 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud.
Sheeran claims the song was inspired by his grandparents, but many have noted its similarities with Marvin Gaye's legendary song Let's Get It On, released in 1973.
Sheeran took the stand on Tuesday, testifying under oathA promise or vow. that "It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for hundreds of years".
In this case, the "building blocks" referenced are a chord progression. Both songs are made up of a sequence of four ascending chords, though the second in the sequence differs in Thinking Out Loud and Let's Get It On.
It might seem like common sense that common chord sequences, harmonies and rhythms should remain in the public domain. Around 60,000 new tracks are uploaded to SpotifyThe Swedish audio streaming platform has over 381 million monthly active users. It was named after one of its two founders misheard a name the other suggested. each day, yet the vast majority of pop music is based on the same four chords.
The case has caused worry among musicians. After all, many say that originality was never the point.
Shakespeare is a popular example. The most towering figure in English literature, nowadays he might be labelled a pesky thief: the story of Othello was nicked from an Italian short story by Cinthio, and Romeo and Juliet was derived from Arthur Brooke's The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, itself a retelling of an older Italian tale.1
But to seriously accuse Shakespeare of plagiarism would be absurd. During the RenaissanceThe "rebirth" of Western learning began in the late 15th century, as European scholars rediscovered ancient manuscripts and began to make developments in science and art., inheriting from earlier traditions and texts was seen as the highest form of creativity.
Nor is Shakespeare the only famous creative "magpie". Picasso openly reworked and took influence from the work of his peers and predecessors, saying "I have no qualms about taking anything I want from them." VoltaireA French enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher known for his criticism of Christianity and slavery. said that "originality is nothing but judicious imitation."
Yes: We ourselves are all unique and individual, and therefore our work is too. If you steal key hallmarks of somebody else's work, you are appropriating their entire identity.
No: There are more than 100 billion of us who have existed throughout time. Originality is logistically impossible. Every idea has already been had, every chord pattern used, and every picture drawn.
Or... There is a difference between drawing careful influence from other creators, and openly stealing from them whilst refusing to acknowledge their intellectual property. The former encourages creativity; the latter encourages laziness.
Is anything original?
Keywords
Oath - A promise or vow.
Spotify - The Swedish audio streaming platform has over 381 million monthly active users. It was named after one of its two founders misheard a name the other suggested.
Renaissance - The "rebirth" of Western learning began in the late 15th century, as European scholars rediscovered ancient manuscripts and began to make developments in science and art.
Voltaire - A French enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher known for his criticism of Christianity and slavery.
‘I’d be an idiot to copy Marvin Gaye’
Glossary
Oath - A promise or vow.
Spotify - The Swedish audio streaming platform has over 381 million monthly active users. It was named after one of its two founders misheard a name the other suggested.
Renaissance - The "rebirth" of Western learning began in the late 15th century, as European scholars rediscovered ancient manuscripts and began to make developments in science and art.
Voltaire - A French enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher known for his criticism of Christianity and slavery.