Recently, British band Shakatak has sent a formal letter accusing New Jeans of plagiarizing their song “Easier Said Than Done” with their track “Bubble Gum.”
ADOR, the agency representing New Jeans, has rejected these plagiarism claims and emphasized that the burden of proof lies with Shakatak.
On June 17, the Wise Group, which holds the copyright for Shakatak’s song, submitted a complaint to ADOR, Hibe, and the Korea Music Copyright Association. They argued that “Bubble Gum” infringes on their copyright by using “Easier Said Than Done” without authorization. Shakatak’s claim is based on similarities in rhythm, notes, and tempo between the two songs.
In response, the legal team for “Bubble Gum” has countered that their song did not use Shakatak’s composition unlawfully.
As a result, the news of the controversy was reported on KBS today, with Korean netizens commenting:
1. It sounds exactly the same, but I’m not an expert so I don’t know
2. They’re quite alike, but I believe the only difference is the pitch
3. The original author said it was plagiarism and the fans said it was sampling
4. I honestly don’t know even after hearing it
5. Sounds exactly the same to me
6. I really don’t know.. It’s funny to say it’s plagiarism because they only took a part of it and that one part is similar
7. Honestly it’s too similar
8. If the original singer said it was similar, then there’s no need to say anything more
9. There are many cases where it’s not plagiarism even though it feels the same, and fans just let it go because it’s sampling, but if the original author says it’s plagiarism, isn’t it plagiarism?
10. Sounds similar to my ears
