[Archive 2016-06-11] Lawsuit filed against Ed Sheeran for his single Photograph

Historical archive — originally published 2016-06-11. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

On Wednesday, Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard, songwriters of the song Amazing performed by Matt Cardle in The X Factor six years ago, claimed British singer Ed Sheeran copied it 'note-by-note' in his 2014 single Photograph.

The duo claimed there are 39 identical notes in both the tracks and they seek about US$20m (about 17.8m euros) and royalties from their song in settlement.

Matt Cardle, performer of Amazing, denied his partipitation in filing the lawsuit. He tweeted, "Please read news articles closely. This is not my lawsuit. I think Ed Sheeran is a genius & 100% deserves all his success".

Photograph, the fifth single of the album x, has more than 208 million views on YouTube and has been purchased 3.5 million times. The song was featured in Hollywood romantic movie Me Before You.

The hearing is to take place in federal court in California and Richard Busch is to represent the duo.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Lawsuit filed against Ed Sheeran for his single Photograph by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.