Despite claims by British band SHAKTAK that NewJeans’s song “Bubble Gum”plagiarized their work, ADOR has firmly denied these allegations.
Recently, it was disclosed that SHAKTAK, a British band, has enlisted the services of a local law firm and sent a certified letter to the ADOR girl group NewJeans, demanding that they stop using their song “Bubble Gum.”In addition, they requested their company to compensate for damages, citing allegations of plagiarism.
NewJeans’ agency, ADOR, has refuted any claims of using the song without authorization in their response.
An investigation conducted by South Korean news outlet Munhwa Ilbo revealed that the British Wise Music Group sent an official Letter of Claim to ADOR, HYBE (ADOR’s parent company), the Korea Music Copyright Association, Sony Music Publishing Hong Kong Limited (Korea branch), and four other recipients in mid-June.
They insisted on an immediate halt of the use of “Bubble Gum”and other measures to resolve the problem.
The document additionally stated, “It is important to note that the demands consist of stopping use, disclosing profits, transferring rights, providing written assurance, and paying for damages. Please adhere to these requests within the designated timeframe of seven days and inform Wise Music Group directly.”
SHAKTAK’s analysis highlighted the similarities between “Bubble Gum”and “Easier Said Than Done,”pointing out their shared rhythm and melody hooks, use of similar electronic guitar and bass elements, and practically identical rhythms. They also observed that both songs have very similar harmonies and noted that while “Easier Said Than Done”has a tempo of approximately 104 BPM, “Bubble Gum”is only slightly faster at around 105 BPM.
ADOR acknowledged receiving SHAKATAK’s certified letter on June 17 and stated that their legal team, representing the publishers of “Bubble Gum,”responded on June 21. They emphasized that “Bubble Gum”did not use SHAKATAK’s composition without permission and requested an authentic analytical report to substantiate the plagiarism allegation in response to these allegations.
Despite SHAKTAK’s promise to provide the report soon, ADOR has not yet received it. ADOR reiterated that the responsibility of providing evidence falls on SHAKTAK, as they were the ones who accused NewJeans of plagiarism.
Despite multiple attempts, Munhwa Ilbo was unable to receive a response from the law firm representing SHAKTAK regarding ADOR’s claims.
The dispute sparked on April 27 when NewJeans debuted the music video for “Bubble Gum.”Soon after, accusations surfaced that it bore resemblance to SHAKTAK’s song “Easier Said Than Done.”In response, SHAKTAK addressed the situation on their official account, remarking, “we will thoroughly investigate this matter as it appears to be quite similar.”
Thanks Sean we’ll look into this 🙂it is v similar
— SHAKATAK (@SHAKATAK_UK) May 12, 2024
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