ADOR 'already hired two musicologists' to debunk NewJeans plagiarism claim

Girl group NewJeans' agency ADOR had "already hired two musicologists" to prove that the quintet's song "Bubble Gum" did not copy British band Shakatak's "Easier Said Than Done" (1982), the company said Tuesday.

Girl group NewJeans [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Girl group NewJeans' agency ADOR had "already hired two musicologists" to prove that the quintet's song "Bubble Gum" did not copy British band Shakatak's "Easier Said Than Done" (1982), the company said Tuesday.

Shakatak’s publisher company Wise Music Group sent an email pointing out the similarities to ADOR’s parent company HYBE on May 20, according to the NewJeans agency.

ADOR replied to the email on May 21 stating that the composers of “Bubble Gum” had not heard of “Easier Said Than Done” beforehand and therefore could not have copied it.

The two songs — “Bubble Gum” and “Easier Said Than Done” (1982) — have different chord progressions, BPM, mood and flow, ADOR said Tuesday in a statement. The agency also claimed that the one similar bar between the two songs can also be found in numerous other songs across the pop music landscape.

"We have strongly refuted claims of plagiarism, and requested a credible analysis report from the other party if they need further rebuttals," said ADOR.

Girl group NewJeans [LINE FRIENDS SQUARE]

"It is very natural and customary to submit a report or request when determining if a piece of music is plagiarized, particularly for checking the similarity of musical compositions."

The NewJeans agency claimed that HYBE made the issue larger than necessary by alerting numerous departments within the company without consent nor prior consultation with ADOR, rather than trying to minimize the impact of the negative news.

It placed the bulk of the blame on the press, which "lacks understanding of the issue," and HYBE's way of handling the legal and communication issues of ADOR.

Girl group NewJeans

ADOR had "repeatedly requested a change" in the centralized public relations structure of HYBE-owned companies, according to the agency. It added that the existing structure led to the current situation.

The agency also said that ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin met with online community DCinside CEO Kim Yu-sik to discuss ways to combat malicious posts and comments that were being uploaded to the website, because HYBE's legal team had told ADOR that anonymous users were hard to catch.

Contrary to what ADOR had been told, Min learned from Kim that HYBE had a "hotline" with DCinside and could catch anonymous users with the help of investigators.

ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin at Friday's press conference [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

"The reason for disclosing this fact [about the hotline] is to sound a warning to those who repeat their misdeeds or neglect their duties to eradicate them based on the unfounded rumor that anonymous communities are difficult to track," ADOR said.

Speaking on future plans for the group, the agency said that after "having successfully completed this round of activities through numerous challenges, NewJeans will take a rest to recharge and prepare to return with a new look."

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]