Yonhap News reported that on July 23, ADOR company issued an official announcement, denying accusations that NewJeans' song "Bubble Gum" plagiarized the song "Easier Said Than Done" by British band Shakatak.
According to ADOR, the MV "Bubble Gum" was released on April 26. On May 20, the company received an email via HYBE about similarities with Shakatak's song.
On May 21, the musicians who composed "Bubble Gum" responded that they had never heard the song "Easier Said Than Done" before this question was raised, so they could not use this song illegally. legal.
ADOR said: “On May 13, this issue was approached by media units, coinciding with the period of disagreement between us and HYBE. So we anticipated the controversies that would occur."
On June 17, ADOR received a notice from Shakatak's legal representative in Korea. The company officially responded on June 21 that the song "Bubble Gum" does not use Shakatak's compositions without permission. . ADOR requested Shakatak's side to provide more reliable analysis to prove the allegations.
On the other hand, ADOR proactively hired 2 foreign music experts to analyze professionally. The differences between the two songs pointed out by the company are: different chord progressions; different tempos; The overall feel and movement are also different.
ADOR emphasized, "accusing melodies of plagiarism when there is only 1 similar bar is a mistake", "it is difficult to say that this melody is characteristic of the song "Easier Said Than Done" because it has was used in many pop songs before "Easier Said Than Done" came out, and it's still very popular today.
According to ADOR, this is a professional process to respond to accusations of plagiarism. But some media units did not report the news accurately. “They made our request for analysis sound like an unethical act and they overrode industry standard procedures,” ADOR said.
In addition, NewJeans' management company said that HYBE Group did not actively support NewJeans in communications and legal matters.
Upon receiving the allegation from Shakatak 's representative , HYBE did not share the information with ADOR first. HYBE spread information to more departments than necessary without ADOR's consent.
ADOR accused HYBE of showing an indifferent and passive attitude in handling problems and minimizing negative news from the press. ADOR has repeatedly requested changes to the system, but the situation has not improved.
While ADOR is actively dealing with malicious and defamatory comments online, HYBE's legal team said that it is difficult to track malicious comment accounts on Korean forums such as DC Inside, especially those who comment without creating an account.
However, when CEO Min Hee Jin met with the CEO of DC Inside forum, Mr. Kim Yusik, he received the answer that there is a way directly on the website that entertainment companies can use to trace. Malicious comments do not create accounts.
ADOR warns those spreading malicious rumors, pledging to use all measures to prevent malicious comments and protect NewJeans.
