The song "Swim" - the title track in BTS's 5th studio album "Arirang" - is becoming the focus of attention as it is involved in copyright disputes in the US. Three American musicians have filed lawsuits claiming that the song's composing crew illegally used elements in the demo they made earlier.
According to documents sent to the Federal Court of Central California (USA), 3 plaintiffs including Steve Cooper, John Sandler and Graylin Johnson accused "Swim" of using important elements in an unreleased demo, composed and recorded by them from the beginning of 2025 without permission. Therefore, they decided to bring the case to court to request clarification.
The lawsuit was filed in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California (USA). The list of defendants includes HYBE, HYBE America, BigHit Music and musicians who participated in composing "Swim" such as Ryan Tedder, Derrick Milano and James Essien.
Notably, BTS was not sued. Leader RM, although named in the song co-writing part, was not on the list of defendants. Producer Pdogg was also not mentioned in the lawsuit.
According to the plaintiff, they completed the demo in early 2025 and sent it to many companies and music producers to find cooperation opportunities. Among them is Artist Publishing Group (APG), a unit believed to have accessed the recording through the DISCO music data sharing platform.
The three musicians said that the demo version was likely transferred to some people participating in composing "Swim". This is the basis for them to suspect that BTS's song production team had the opportunity to access the work before the song was completed.
To consolidate the argument, the plaintiff invited music analyst Alexander Stewart to compare the two songs. In the preliminary report, this expert said that the two works have many similarities to the point that it is difficult to consider a complete coincidence, and at the same time said that it is impossible to rule out the possibility that one song has referenced the other.
From there, the plaintiffs requested the court to ban the continued exploitation of the song "Swim", and at the same time request compensation for damages and return the profits earned from the song. If this request is not accepted, they propose to be recognized as co-authors and to enjoy a portion of the copyright revenue.
To date, HYBE and BigHit Music have not yet given an official response to the lawsuit.
The incident occurred at a time when BTS had just returned with a full squad of 7 members after completing military service. The album "Arirang" includes 14 songs, combining many genres such as pop, hip hop, R&B and EDM, and also inspired by Korean folk song "Arirang" to convey a message about reunion, identity and the group's journey of maturity.
As soon as it was released, "Arirang" quickly topped the charts in many markets, and the title track "Swim" became the focus of the promotion campaign and the "Arirang World Tour".
According to legal experts, the fact that a song is sued does not mean that copyright infringement has been identified. In music disputes, the court will consider many factors such as the similarity between the two works, whether the defendant has accessed the original work or not, as well as the creative process of each party before making a ruling.
Therefore, the contents in the lawsuit are currently only accusations from the plaintiff. The final conclusion will depend on the trial process and the evidence provided by the parties before the court.
