On May 4, the jury in the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement case obviously agreed with Elizabeth Nelson’s May 3 op-ed, “The Ed Sheeran lawsuit is a threat to all music makers.” I agree, too.
Blues songs can sound similar; sometimes, they can even sound the same. Why? Every bluesman in history has made ample use of what is called the I, IV, V progression, the basic three-chord “building block” of blues music that is also foundational to country music and rock-and-roll. You’ll find variations of this progression in pop, R&B and jazz. It usually is very hard to mistake a blues song for a country song, even when both are based on the same three-chord progression.
So, what about the chord progression at issue in the lawsuit? When I listen to the songs in question, Mr. Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” I hear a I, IV, V progression with a minor III chord included (a I, III, IV, V progression). Songwriters are left with only four other possibilities to enhance the melody of a song: adding one, all or any combination of a minor II; minor III; minor VI or diminished VII chord. This technique is very common across all genres of music. In this case, a minor III is used.
Who “owns” this chord progression and its possible variations? No one — and everyone.
