With Copyright Lawsuit Behind Him, Ed Sheeran's Net Worth In 2023 Sounds 'Perfect!'
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Ed Sheeran’s net worth is so staggering, it just might give you “Shivers.” Whether you’re judging by Spotify streams or record sales, the pop star’s smash-hit success is undeniable. He's riding high with his new album - (aka Minus) and documentary The Sum of It All debuting in May 2023. He also just won a copyright infringement lawsuit that claimed he poached bits his his song "Thinking Out Loud" from Marvin Gaye. Plus (another of his albums) in addition to crooning hits like “Perfect”, he’s also added to his income—and his impressive music resume—as a songwriter, penning tracks for artists like Justin Bieber and The Weeknd.
Even as one of the bestselling artists of our time, however, Sheeran has already been “Thinking Out Loud” about the future of his career. “I know this isn’t going to last forever,” he told Parade in 2014. “Now is the time when I’m making my musical statements and being cool and going to parties. But I don’t think I’ll be living this life in 10 years’ time. If I am, please slap me.”
Despite his millionaire status (and counting fellow A-listers like Taylor Swift among his friends and collaborators), Sheeran keeps a fairly low profile. You won’t see him flashing his wealth to the world, and a hoodie and jeans is practically the notoriously private singer’s uniform. Keep reading for everything we know about Ed Sheeran’s net worth and how he made it in music.
How did Ed Sheeran get his start?
Ed Sheeran, who was raised in Suffolk, England, self-produced his music for years before signing with Atlantic Records in 2011. Prior to the deal, Jamie Foxx says he saw something in the young up-and-comer—so much so that he let him sleep on his couch after hearing him play. “Ed Sheeran slept on my couch for six weeks before he was famous," the star said on The Graham Norton Show in 2017. “I said, ‘Listen, I know you don’t have anywhere to go, just chill here.’ I was giving him food and my daughter was like, ‘Who do you have over here now?'”
What is Ed Sheeran’s net worth in 2023?
Ed Sheeran’s net worth is estimated at $200 million.
Is Ed Sheeran a billionaire?
Nope, Ed Sheeran isn't a billionaire (at least not yet)! While the star came in at No. 23 on the Forbes list of highest-earning celebrities in 2020, he’s yet to achieve billionaire status.
Does the Marvin Gaye copyright infringement lawsuit impact Ed Sheeran's net worth?
Long story short, not really. Marvin Gaye's estate claimed that Sheeran had ripped off pieces of his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" from Gaye's "Let's Get It On," but the jury sided with Sheeran after deliberating. That means that Sheeran does not owe the Gaye estate a portion of the royalties he's received from the song. While Sheeran, of course, probably lost some money in legal costs, he was not ordered to pay millions, which could have been the case if he'd been found guilty.
What is Ed Sheeran’s most popular song?
While Sheeran has produced plenty of hits across his five studio albums, “Shape of You” shaped up to be his biggest song on Spotify. In 2021, it became the first-ever song to rack up more than 3 billion streams on the platform. He celebrated the milestone on Instagram at the time, saying in a video to fans: “[‘Shape Of You’] wasn’t really meant to make the album but when I finished making the song, Ben Cook, from my label, said it had to be a single—but I wanted ‘Castle on the Hill’ to be the single. We put both songs out at once and … I was wrong. Here we are with ‘Shape of You’ at 3 billion.”
In fact, "Shape of You" wasn't supposed to be for Sheeran at all. He said he originally wrote the song with the intentions of giving it to Rihanna to record, but explained on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show (via Billboard), “And then I started singing lyrics like ‘putting Van the Man on the jukebox’ and I was like ‘Well, she’s not really going to sing that, is she?'” "Van the Man" is a nickname for Van Morrison.
How much did Ed Sheeran make on tour?
Touring is where Sheeran's heart—in addition to a lot of his money—lies. “I’m in the music industry to play live,” he said at Amazon’s London office in 2014, per The Guardian. “That’s why I make records, that’s why I do radio interviews, that’s why I do Amazon events, that’s why I put things on Spotify. Having recorded music is fantastic, but playing live is where I buzz the most.”
Beyond being where he buzzes, it’s also where he banks big cash. In 2018 alone, his ÷ (a.k.a. Divide) tour made $432,398,856 and sold a total of 4,860,482 tickets, according to Pollstar. Between 2017 and 2019, the record-breaking tour grossed a whopping total of $775 million, according to Forbes. The outlet also reports that it topped U2’s 360° tour, which took place from 2009 to 2011, as the highest-grossing tour of all time.
How much did Ed Sheeran make on The Voice?
In 2021, Ed Sheeran put his musical talents to use as a mega mentor during the knockout rounds of The Voice. It’s not publicly known how much he was paid to appear on the singing show, where he also took the stage himself to perform his single “Shivers” on the Season 21 finale.
The music industry expert shared some of his own singing journey with the up-and-comers, even letting them listen to a “really bad” performance from before he made it big. “I couldn’t even sing in tune till I was about 16. I’m going to show you something, because no one ever believes me,” he told contestants, before whipping out a clip of himself awkwardly singing his song “Addicted.” “Kids always go, ‘Oh, you’ve got to be born with natural talent,’” he added. “And I’m like, ‘No, you don’t!’’
How much did Ed Sheeran sell “Love Yourself” for?
In addition to writing his own songs, the British singer-songwriter has also penned chart-topping tracks for other artists, including The Weeknd and One Direction. Among the smash hit songs we have Sheeran to thank for? Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself.” It’s unclear how much he made for the song, which he co-wrote with Bieber and Benny Blanco.
During a conversation with Jack Antonoff at the Audacy Beach Festival in 2021, Sheeran said he thinks the song wouldn’t have been as popular had he sung it himself. “People always say, 'Why didn’t you keep it?’ And to be honest, he was on such a roll at that point that I think it wouldn’t have been as big if I’d sung it,” he said, according to iHeart Radio. “He had his whole period of his life that was a bit...you know what I mean… and America loves a comeback story,” the star continued, before adding: “It was so massive for him … I think it's his biggest song … anywhere in the world, if I picked up a guitar and played that, they'd be like ‘Oh my God, you wrote that!’
How much did Ed Sheeran pay to sponsor Ipswich?
Ed Sheeran has been a fan of football club Ipswich Town FC since he was a child, so his deal with the team just might be the “Perfect” collaboration. The British star sponsored the club in 2021, and it was announced that his album logos will appear on the player's shirts. “The Football Club is a big part of the local community and this is my way of showing my support,” he said in a statement at the time, per The Daily Mail. “I have always enjoyed my trips to Portman Road.”
That said, it's not publicly known how much cash Sheeran infused into the soccer team.
Related: Ed Sheeran Denies Dating Taylor Swift, Reveals 10-Year Plan
How much did Ed Sheeran get paid for Game of Thrones?
While it’s unclear what Sheeran was paid for his Game of Thrones cameo, he certainly paid for the appearance, so to speak, in the comments section. He reflected on the much-derided cameo during an Armchair Expert interview with Dax Shepard, saying, “I feel like people’s reaction to it sort of muddied my joy to it.” The small acting role was supposed to be a surprise for his friend Maisie Williams, although he says Sophie Turner accidentally spilled the beans early.
“She’s always been awesome,” Sheeran added of Williams during the podcast episode. “I don’t think they had written the ending yet. It was meant to be her last season, but it wasn’t. And as a surprise for her, [they got] me on. So, she was meant to turn up on set and I was by the fire.”
How much did Ed Sheeran get paid for Red Notice?
Despite receiving ridicule for the Game of Thrones scene, Sheeran gave acting another try with a cameo in Netflix’s Red Notice. He sings part of his song “Perfect” on stage, before getting in on the action. The star even pokes fun at his GOT cameo, saying in character: “Get off me! Do you know who I am? I was in Game of Thrones!”
While the film had a reported $200 million budget, it’s unclear how much of that went to securing Sheeran’s talents. Red Notice writer and director Rawson Marshall Thurber told Netflix’s Tudum that he’d “been a huge Ed Sheeran fan for a long time,” adding, “He was actually in my original pitch. I had Gal Gadot’s name, Ryan [Reynolds]’s name, Dwayne [Johnson] was already part of it, and I had Ed Sheeran.”
Related: WATCH: Ed Sheeran Performs "Perfect" at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant
How much did Ed Sheeran get paid for Yesterday?
Sheeran also played himself in the film Yesterday for an unknown salary. Despite the similarities between him and the protagonist (who is also from Suffolk), the singer revealed he wasn’t the first choice for a singer to star in the film. “They asked Chris Martin, he said no, they asked Harry Styles, he said no, and I was third choice,” he said on BBC Radio 1 in 2021, according to PEOPLE.
“If you look at that movie, the premise is a bloke who gets really, really, really famous 'round the world, and it's a bit unbelievable that he got really, really famous 'round the world … [he] comes from Suffolk … so there are all these factors in it where I was like, 'Has [Richard] sort of written this about me?'” he added of writer Richard Curtis, who also lives in Suffolk and knows Sheeran and his wife Cherry Seaborn.
Does Ed Sheeran have a tattoo of ketchup?
Need to catch up (or should we say ketchup?) on Ed Sheeran’s massive tattoo collection? Yes, the singer’s ink really does include a tribute to Heinz ketchup. He turned his ketchup-themed arm tattoo into a business opportunity in 2019 when he partnered up with the brand on collector’s edition bottles emblazoned with artwork of his ink. While some were gifted to superfans, others were auctioned off for $1,300 and $1,800 apiece, according to Forbes.
Next, can't sleep? Check out this lullaby version of Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud."
