In recent days, reports have emerged suggesting that English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is ‘suing’ musician Sam Chokri after losing royalties to his hit song, Shape Of You.
A report in The Sun reveals that Sheeran, who has achieved major success over the past few years both in the UK and overseas, has “not pocketed a penny” from the £20 million smash hit song – which was branded last year’s “top-selling single” in the UK – since May.
The news comes after Sam Chokri – a musician who goes by the stage name ‘Sami Switch’ – accused Sheeran of plagiarism, arguing that several elements of Shape Of You had been lifted directly from his lesser-known 2015 song, Oh Why.
Concerns were first raised in a letter penned by Chokri to Sony’s record label in September 2017.
At the time, a spokesperson on behalf of the label said that there was “ample factual evidence” suggesting similarities between the two songs.
Later, Chokri took his complaint to the Performing Rights Society, which subsequently moved to put Sheeran’s profits from Shape Of You “into suspense” in May, a report in OK! Magazine reveals.
This decision came after the Society, which has the discretion to decide on royalty pay-outs, examined an ‘expert report’ into the matter penned by Chokri, which included information gleaned from musicologists and other sources.
The news is not the first time that Sheeran has found himself caught up in a copyright dispute with other musicians this year.
In recent days, the 28-year-old has also been accused of copying aspects of Marvin Gaye’s iconic hit Let’s Get It On in his 2014 track, Thinking Out Loud.
Sheeran’s track has been criticised by the company Structured Asset Sales (SAS) for copying “the melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping” of Gaye’s hit.
SAS is reportedly suing Sheeran for a sum of £76.4 million, and the singer is yet to issue a public comment in relation to either dispute.