EDAM Entertainment has issued a statement on allegations that singer-songwriter IU has plagiarized elements from six of her songs.
South Korean singer-songwriter IU has been anonymously accused of plagiarizing six songs from other artists, to which EDAM Entertainment, her agency, has issued a statement.
Initially reported by Maeil Kyungjae, Seoul Seongbuk Police Station revealed that a “non-celebrity individual” referred to only as “A” filed a complaint against IU on May 8, citing alleged violations of copyright law.
Police are reportedly investigating the complaint against a total of six IU songs: “The Red Shoes,” “Good Day,” “BBIBBI,” “pitiful,” “Boo,” and “Celebrity.” Of the six, IU co-wrote “Celebrity” and helped produce “BBIBBI.”
“Many of these songs are identical to the original works in melody, rhythm, and chord progression, especially ‘The Red Shoes’ and ‘Good Day,’ which show a high degree of similarity, even to the casual listener,” the accusation states. “The introduction parts of all six songs, which set the atmosphere and identity of the music and pique the listener’s curiosity, are suspected of plagiarism.”
Notably, “The Red Shoes” sparked controversy upon its release in 2013, with its many similarities to the German band Nekta’s “Here’s Us.”
Copyright infringement is typically a complaint-based crime, meaning that the original creators of the infringed-upon content must file a complaint for litigation to proceed. Further, EDAM Entertainment, the agency representing IU, revealed in its statement that no complaint was brought to its attention before the Maeil Kyungjae report.
“We encountered the news article today, claiming that we were accused of plagiarism by the police while we were waiting for the progress of the investigation. As of now, we have not received any official contact from the investigating agency and learned about the accusation for the first time through the news article,” wrote EDAM Entertainment. “We have not been able to confirm the content of the complaint mentioned in the media, and we are in the process of understanding it.”
“We would like to emphasize that spreading false information as if it were true and maliciously tarnishing the artist’s reputation is a clear illegal act and should be subject to strong legal action,” the statement continues. “Our company intends to proceed with strong legal measures without leniency in cases where criminal acts, such as repeated posting of defamatory and malicious content or reproducing false information, are committed.”