UK Band Shakatak Hires Musicologist To Prove NewJeans’s Plagiarism Allegation
Shakatak revealed their official stance and expressed their intention to respond to NewJeans’s plagiarism strongly
At around 9:30 p.m. on July 19th (Korean time), British band Shakatak released a statement on their official SNS account, saying “To all our fans and friends in Korea thank you for all your comments about the usage of ‘Easier Said Than Done’ in several recent songs. Our publishing company Wise Music Group is on the case and has employed a musicologist to take this further”.
They added, “We will keep you posted”, expressing their determination to prove the suspicion over NewJeans’s “Bubble Gum” plagiarizing their song “Easier Said Than Done”.
This is Shakatak’s response to the statement denying the plagiarism allegation released by NewJeans’s agency ADOR earlier on July 18th. They claimed, “’Bubble Gum’ did not use Shakatak’s composition without permission, and we requested a credible analysis report on this matter”, after Shakatak’s side raised the plagiarism issue. ADOR added that Shakatak should provide evidence to prove their plagiarism claims.
Representing Shakatak, the UK Wise Music Group released a Letter of Claim, saying “Please make sure that you accurately review and understand that this includes contents such as discontinuation of use, reporting of profits, change of rights holder, written guarantees, and compensation for damages.”
Their Letter of Claim listed several points, such as “the composition includes the same rhythm and notes, and has a similar melody hook”, “the use of electric guitar and bass are similar”, “putting the two songs side by side to compare, it can clearly prove that the rhythm progresses are the same”, “The tempo of ‘Easier Said Than Done’ is about 104 BPM while ‘Bubble Gum’ is about 105 BPM, which is almost the same” and “the selection of similar harmonies is also a reason for our claim of unauthorized use”.
In response to ADOR’s request for a credible analysis report, Shakatak shows their willingness to prove their claim by employing music experts.
In the meantime, netizens are showing negative reactions to ADOR’s stance on this plagiarism controversy, pointing out that CEO Min Hee-jin raised suspicion over ILLIT copying NewJeans without evidence. On the 10th, Munhwa Ilbo asked ADOR whether they had submitted an ‘analysis report’ to prove ILLIT plagiarism claim, but received no answer.
