On the 19th, British jazz-funk band Shakatak took to their official social media to address ongoing suspicions surrounding the alleged plagiarism of their song by the NewJeans. The band announced, “Thank you to all my fans and friends in Korea for all the opinions regarding our recent use of ‘Easier Said Than Done.’ Our publishing company, Wise Music Group, is handling this case. We have hired a musicologist to look into this matter further and are currently investigating.” They assured fans, “We will continue to update you on the situation,” signaling their commitment to resolving the controversy.
This statement comes as a direct response to New Jeans’ agency, ADOR, which had previously requested Shakatak to provide a credible report substantiating their plagiarism claims. Last month, Shakatak, through Wise Music Group, engaged a domestic law firm and sent an official protest letter to ADOR, its parent company Hybe, the Korea Music Copyright Association, and Sony Music Publishing Hong Kong Limited (Korean branch). The letter alleged that NewJeans‘ track “Bubble gum” plagiarized Shakatak’s 1982 song “Easier Said Than Done,” demanding an immediate halt to its usage and compensation for damages.
In reaction to these claims, ADOR’s legal team responded on June 21, four days after receiving Shakatak’s certification of contents. They stated, “The legal team of the publisher of the writer of ‘Bubblegum’ responded to the certification of contents sent by Shakatak on June 17 on June 21,” and emphasized, “New Jeans has currently requested Shakatak to submit a credible analysis report along with their position that ‘Bubblegum’ did not use Shakatak’s composition without permission.”
Shakatak bases their allegations on the purported similarities in rhythm, notes, and tempo between “Bubble gum” and their song “Easier Said Than Done.”
1. How is this going to turn out?
2. So they’re preparing to bring a credible report
3. They’re doing it the right way… I wonder how it’ll turn out
4. So they’ve been preparing it the right way
5. SHAKATAK fighting
6. So the original songwriter also thought it was an issue
7. They seem genuine
8. SHAKATAK fighting
9. If Bubble Gum hit even bigger, they would’ve gotten into an even bigger lawsuit, but it didn’t do that well..
10. NewJeans fans were hoping that this goes unnoticed, but here they got caught lying again
