A former member of Thirsty Merc is one of two Australian musicians suing Ed Sheeran, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill for alleged “blatant copying” of a country song.
The lawsuit, launched in the US by ex-Thirsty Merc guitarist Sean Carey and keyboardist-producer Beau Golden, accuses McGraw and Hill’s song ‘The Rest Of Our Life’ (which was co-written by Sheeran) of ripping off Australian artist Jasmine Rae’s song ‘When I Found You’, which was co-written by Carey and Golden.
“The copying is, in many instances, verbatim, note-for-note copying of original elements of the song, and is obvious to the ordinary observer,” the lawsuit reads (Via The Hollywood Reporter).
It’s also been alleged that employees of Sony Music knew about the similarities between the two songs months before ‘The Rest Of Our Life’ was released.
According to the complaint, Jasmine Rae’s boyfriend Tim Holland, a Marketing Manager at Sony Music, “admitted to knowing about the infringing song months in advance of its release because he was tasked with promoting and marketing the infringing song and infringing sound recording before its release”.
“When questioned by plaintiffs as to his silence about the similarities between ‘When I Found You’ and the infringing song/infringing sound recording, Mr. Holland stated he did not want to lose his job with Sony Music,” the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit also says Carey and Golden believe Holland may have been “instrumental in bringing plaintiffs’ work to the attention of the defendants and likely provided access to it”.
Carey and Golden are now seeking an injunction against the song, at least USD$5 million in damages, profits, a running royalty and the cost of attorney fees.
Stream ‘The Rest Of Our Life’ and ‘When I Found You’ below alongside the court documents, and judge for yourself.
