Music News for Monday

JUDGE RULES COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT LAWSUIT AGAINST ED SHEERAN CAN PROCEED: A federal judge in New York has refused to dismiss a lawsuit involving Ed Sheeran’s Grammy-winning hit “Thinking Out Loud.” The heirs of Edward B. Townsend, who own the copyright to Marvin Gaye’s classic track “Let’s Get It On,” have accused Ed of copyright infringement, claiming that “Thinking Out Loud” is too similar to Gaye’s song. The judge’s decision noted that because there are substantial “material facts” in dispute he refused Ed’s motion to dismiss the suit. Those “facts” include whether or not the chord progression used in “Let’s Get It On” – and also used in “Thinking Out Loud” – is “commonplace.” Another fact is whether or not the musical elements in the two songs are so similar that the average person would hear “Thinking Out Loud” and feel that it had been appropriated from “Let’s Get It On.” The judge said there exists “substantial similarities between several of the two works’ musical elements” and noted that jurors “may be impressed by footage of a Sheeran performance which shows him seamlessly transitioning between [both songs].”

LUKAS GRAHAM REMOVES XXXTENTACION COVER FROM SPOTIFY: Danish pop group Lukas Graham have removed a cover of the late XXXTentacion’s song “SAD!” from Spotify. Frontman Lukas Forchhammer attributed the decision to his apparently newfound knowledge of XXXTentacion’s alleged abuse. In a post that has since been removed, Forchhammer wrote: “Our cover of SAD will be taken down ASAP. I had no knowledge of his violent history. I’m very sorry for the pain I’ve caused. Again, I’m very sorry.” XXXTentacion, real name Jahseh Onfroy, was shot and killed on June 18, 2018, in Deerfield Beach, Florida, at the age of 20. At the time of his death, he faced many legal charges, including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and witness tampering. In October, the Miami-Dade County state attorney’s office shared recordings of XXXTentacion seemingly confessing to numerous violent crimes.

5 SECONDS OF SUMMER DEBUT ACOUSTIC VERSION OF ‘LIE TO ME’: 5 Seconds of Summer have dropped the acoustic version of their latest single “Lie to Me” and has given fans a live video to accompany the track. In the two-minute-long video, the band perform their tune on what appears to be the edge of a cliff during a stunning sunset, with a hot-pink hue cascading over each band member as they play their respective instruments. The song is off of their 2018 album Youngblood. The minimalist video of Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin was filmed in Los Angeles’ Irwindale Speedway and was directed by Brandon Vaughn. They also recently unveiled another version of the song that features Julia Michaels.

‘FIFTY SHADES’ BOX SET TO INCLUDE EVERY SOUNDTRACK, UNRELEASED VERSION OF LIAM PAYNE & RITA ORA’S ‘FOR YOU’ JUSTIN IN TIME FOR VALENTINE’ DAY: To be released just in time for Valentine’s Day, The Music of Fifty Shades – Complete Soundtrack Collection, which brings together all the soundtracks for the movies Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed, a remix album and a previously unreleased version of the hit Liam Payne/Rita Ora duet “For You (Fifty Shades Freed).” There’s also a hardcover coffee table book with images from all three movies. The collection includes songs from the likes of Annie Lennox, Beyonc, Sia, John Legend, The Rolling Stones, Jessie J, The Weeknd as well as the hits Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do,” from the first movie, and Taylor Swift’s duet with ZAYN from the second movie, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” The set will be out February 14th.