IU’s side refuted NEKTA’s claim of receiving no response regarding ‘copyright infringement’ issue by publicizing reply emails in 2013
IU’s agency responded to NEKTA’s claim of not receiving contact from IU’s side regarding “The Red Shoes” copyrights.
Nordend Entertainment Publishing, the official music publisher that released “Here’s Us” through a project with NEKTA, recently released a long statement referring to several media outlets.
Nordend Entertainment Publishing said, “With great astonishment we have taken note of various articles in Korean media in which it is claimed that those responsible for the production had contacted us or the artist group NEKTA at the time and clarified the issue regarding ‘copyright infringement’. This does not correspond to the truth! To date, neither the artist IU nor any official representative of LOEN Entertainment or EDAM Entertainment has contacted us or responded to our multiple attempts to contact them.”
NEKTA is the German band that released “Here’s Us” in 2009 and the artist who has been involved in IU’s plagiarism controversy. Released in 2013, IU’s “The Red Shoes” was suspected of having significant similarities with NEKTA’s “Here’s Us”. Since the suspicion was raised, IU’s side has consistently explained the controversy, saying “‘Here’s Us’ and ‘The Red Shoes’ are completely different songs”, but this is the first time NEKTA expressed their stance.
Nordend Entertainment Publishing said, “We have already tried to get in touch in 2013 to discuss the matter together, however all our email and contacts remained unanswered. The inquiries regarding this matter are archived in our records”, adding “Following the now newly published articles and statements by Mr. Cho Young-Cheol, we attempted to contact EDAM Entertainment on 28 May 2023 using the email addresses published on the website. This email has also gone unanswered so far.”
They added, “With regret we have to state that the responsible persons apparently have no interest in averting damage from their artist, us or other parties involved in this situation. The untrue statements made now cast a very questionable light on these companies and with their behavior they also damage the reputation of the Korean music industry”, expressing regrets.
In short, NEKTA claimed that they tried to contact IU twice in 2013, when “The Red Shoes” was released, and last month, but did not receive any answer. However, producer Cho Young Cheol, who was in charge of IU’s album at that time, said on May 12th, “I saw articles stating that the German band NEKTA tried to contact IU’s side regarding the plagiarism controversy but did not receive any response. However, it’s not true at all. At that time, NEKTA’s legal representative sent an email to the company LOEN. LOEN and their legal representative replied through emails and official letters to verify basic facts. However, they did not receive any further response from the other party. My former agency and the law firm are still keeping emails and official letters sent at that time”, emphasizing that it was NEKTA’s side that did not respond.
IU’s agency also released their position. On the morning of June 21st, EDAM Entertainment publicized the email they sent to Nordend Entertainment Publishing in 2013, saying “We already checked the mail we received from Nordend Entertainment and responded to it. We will publicize other mails that LOEN Entertainment sent in reply through lawyers in 2013.”
Mentioning when IU was embroiled in a plagiarism controversy right after the release of “The Red Shoes”, the agency refuted, “It is a totally different song, considering the overall melody, structure, and instrumentals of the song, including the chorus, first verse (A part) and the bridge section in the latter part of the song, which are the core parts of the songs”, adding “Some melodies from ‘Here’s Us’ and the second verse (B part) of ‘The Red Shoes’ may sound similar, but the chord progressions of the two songs are completely different.”
Source: Daum
