2024 has been a rollercoaster ride for NewJeans– riding on their success from their first year, battling negative publicity from the feud of ADOR and HYBE, and releasing music when people thought that they wouldn’t.
Now, another issue has surfaced against NewJeans—plagiarism allegations regarding one of their most recent releases, “Bubble Gum.”
English jazz-funk band Shakatak claimed that NewJeans had allegedly copied their 1981 song “Easier Said Than Done,” with Wise Music Group (the copyright holder of the song) sending a letter to ADOR, HYBE Labels, the Korea Music Copyright Association (KMCA), Sony Music Publishing, and more on June 17, 2024.
In the letter, Wise Music Group said that NewJeans’ “Bubble Gum” had used identical rhythms, melodies, and tempos to Shakatak’s “Easier Said Than Done.”
This was refuted by ADOR, with the agency stating that their legal team had responded to Wise Music Group on behalf of the writers of “Bubble Gum” by saying that they did not “unlawfully use Shakatak’s composition” and requested that they give a credible analysis report.
“The burden of proof lies with the accuser, and Shakatak needs to provide a report to substantiate their plagiarism claims,” said the official from ADOR. They later added that Shakatak had agreed to doing this but have not yet given it—until recently.
On July 19, 2024, Shakatak posted on their social media saying that they had employed a musicologist to analyze the two songs and see if “Bubble Gum” really was copyright infringed.
This drew in mixed reactions from fans and the public alike—with fans directing their hate on Shakatak, while the public is criticizing the fandom’s reactions to it.
It's the same pic.twitter.com/1RFXB3bc7Z
— Who is Petrova ⁷ (@satanktaes) July 18, 2024
[NOTPANNKPOP]
Shakatak was attacked on Twitter because of NewJeans' plagiarism issue, K-netizens criticize NewJeans fandom, Knetz react pic.twitter.com/5EENGRPWxg
— notpannkpop & notnetizenbuzz (@notpannkpop_) July 20, 2024
The top 2 community in Korea, Theqoo, has a popular post where about 90% of the people are supporting Shakatak. This community has had closed membership for several years, and there are no HYBE stans. This simply reflects that Korean public opinion is supporting Shakatak. https://t.co/Rv3ernTKL8 pic.twitter.com/5otg8WpFJE
— mexjeans fan (@jjinjins) July 19, 2024
Claiming plagiarism over a rhythm that’s been used since 1977…@SHAKATAK_UK You failed to send in an analysis report for over a month to ADOR because you’re well aware that the chord progressions are completely different. The 'Easier Said Than Done' chord is Bb-Gm-Dm D C, & the… https://t.co/6NBaWnQAQh pic.twitter.com/9RmwwIpo8D
— nil 𝜗𝜚 (@newjiram) July 19, 2024
LMFAOOOO hybe stans were so loud for this???? pic.twitter.com/e4mKmSUQKs https://t.co/0xaxjFXUk0
— harley #SUPERNATURAL (@oIdpistoIa) July 19, 2024
YOU plagiarized this rhythm first, @SHAKATAK_UK. don’t you feel ashamed? the sequence is not the same, the notes are not the same, not even the chords are the same.
you’re claiming a rhythm that you didn’t even invent, which makes me wonder; who paid you to start a losing game? https://t.co/7bPkgrvnsl pic.twitter.com/n4QYAOhUuQ— ۟ (@nwjns1st) July 19, 2024
We support you. Koreans who do not use Twitter are actively backing Shakatak in various online communities and criticizing Min Hee-jin's plagiarism. We hope you will win the plagiarism dispute. https://t.co/Rv3ernTKL8
— mexjeans fan (@jjinjins) July 19, 2024
@SHAKATAK_UK APOLOGIZE TO ADOR AND NEWJEANS@SHAKATAK_UK APOLOGIZE TO ADOR AND NEWJEANS@SHAKATAK_UK APOLOGIZE TO ADOR AND NEWJEANS@SHAKATAK_UK APOLOGIZE TO ADOR AND NEWJEANS@SHAKATAK_UK APOLOGIZE TO ADOR AND NEWJEANShttps://t.co/vEdHDzHN10
— 0_1𓃺𖧵✘✜⁷⁰⁷•ᴗ•⁷🦋🇫🇷🌙 saw zb1 and more (@moa_armyFR) July 20, 2024
whoa oh yowza. shakatak actually did 'look into' the new jeans plagiarism claims. and they want DAMAGES. https://t.co/FsThhgW3Zo
— Sean Lim (@theseoulite) July 18, 2024
With the musicologist’s analysis still pending, the debate over the similarity between the songs continues.
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