Ed Sheeran co-writer speaks out as ‘Thinking Out Loud’ finally concludes: “It’s a huge relief”

Ed Sheeran’s co-writer for ‘Thinking Out Loud’ has spoken out following the lawsuit around the song coming to an end.

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The comments come as the US Supreme Court rejected an attempt to revive the ongoing trial over the 2014 song, alleging it copied Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’.

Taking place on Monday (June 16), the court denied an appeal from Structured Asset Sales (SAS), putting an end to the legal battle which has been going on for over 10 years.

Regarding the decision, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ co-writer told BBC Radio 4’s Today show: “It’s a huge relief. It’s been rolling news under my life for 10 years but, yes, it’s done.”

“The absolute truth is that song changed my life. I didn’t have a hit until I was 37 and that was the one,” she added. “I was able to feel like I’d had a hit for a year and then all of a sudden it felt like the wolves were surrounding. It was incredibly frightening.”

Copyright accusations surrounding the song first emerged in 2016, when the family of Ed Townsend – who co-wrote the Marvin Gaye hit and died in 2003 – came forward accusing both Sheeran and Wadge and seeking $100million (£73million) in damages.

The issue they had with the 2014 song related to the similar syncopated chord pattern the two hits share. While Sheeran’s team acknowledged the similarity in court, they outlined that the chords were merely “building blocks” for many pop songs, and seen in tracks long before ‘Let’s Get It On’ was recorded in 1973.

A jury in New York ruled in favour of Sheeran in 2023, and he shared a comment around that same time, saying (via BBC): “I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake.”

Another lawsuit arose in 2018, this time from SAS – founded and run by investment banker David Pullman, which also has a stake in Townsend’s copyright. The case was shortlived and ruled in Sheeran’s favour, although SAS did launch numerous appeals afterwards.

It appealed to the Supreme Court in March, but it was decided that the chord progressions have been used too frequently in other pop songs for it to say that ‘Thinking Out Loud’ had a direct correlation with ‘Let’s Get It On’.

“No reasonable jury could find that the two songs, taken as a whole, are substantially similar in light of their dissimilar melodies and lyrics,” Judge Michael Park wrote for the New York-based Second US Circuit Court of Appeals (as per BBC).

The song remains one of the biggest hits of Sheeran’s career, and spent more than two years in the UK singles chart. It also won him a Grammy in the Song Of The Year category back in 2016.

Elsewhere in her statement, Wadge said that the decision saw an end to “10 long years” of uncertainty.

“It was certainly a financial threat, but there was also… this huge existential threat of what it meant for the world of songwriting. I always felt the weight of that,” she said. “People would tell me that everyone was looking at this case and I knew that had [SAS] been successful it really would have caused a huge issue for creativity in general. It was a big responsibility.”

Both she and Sheeran got tattoos quoting the judge’s verdict from the 2023 trial, reading: “Independently created.”

As for Sheeran’s thoughts on the verdict, Wadge said she had not had a chance to speak to the singer as he is currently on tour, but is “quite sure at some point we’ll be able to sit down and say, ‘Thank goodness’”.

In other Ed Sheeran news, the musician recently shared a new single called ‘Sapphire’ – which followed on from other recent tracks from his upcoming album ‘Play’: ‘Azizam’ and ‘Old Phone’.

Last month, he made a surprise appearance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Liverpool after delivering an impromptu performance in Sheffield and playing an intimate set at Coachella 2025.

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