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S. Korean agency mulls suing U.S. songwriter for allegedly selling HyunA’s song before release

August 1, 2016

SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) — The South Korean talent agency that manages K-pop diva HyunA has said it is considering taking legal action against a U.S. songwriter for allegedly selling the singer’s then-unreleased song.

“The international fans who watched the 15-second teaser movie of HyunA’s new song ‘Do It!’ tipped us that they had already seen the full version in the U.S.,” the Cube Entertainment said in a press release on Sunday. “Do It!” is one of the songs listed on the idol singer’s fifth EP “A’wesome,” released on Monday at 12 a.m.

“After inquiries, we were informed that the song was published in the U.S. on April 10 last year, as part of an album ‘Make It Pop Vol. 1.’” The song was broadcast on “Make It Pop,” a K-pop-inspired TV show by U.S. media outlet Nickelodean.

South Korean K-pop singer Hyuna performs in the finale of Viral Fest Asia 2016 that was held in Bali, Indonesia, on July 16, 2016.

According to the Seoul-based star agency, the controversial song was written in a song camp that it hosted in March and April in 2014. At the event were South Korean songwriters Seo Jae-woo and Big Sancho and U.S. songwriter Brian Lee. The Korean songwriters, employed by Cube Entertainment, were not credited as the co-makers of the piece.

“The song camp was held by Cube, which led to the creation of the song ‘Do It!’ — meaning that Cube holds the priority right for the song,” the agency stated.

The U.S. composer allegedly told the agency that he only used part of the co-created song, which makes the U.S.-release a new creation of his own.

However, the agency struck back at Lee’s claim, alleging, “We were told by the co-composers Seo Jae-woo and Big Sancho that the ‘Do It!’ broadcast on Nickelodean is similar in every way with the ‘Do It!’ co-composed in Cube’s song camp, such as in the beats per minute (BPM), chord work, rhythm and composition of instruments.”

The controversy comes amid intensifying online debate by international K-pop fans on social media platform Reddit that HyunA’s new song ‘Do It!’ is a remake of Nickelodean’s “Make It Pop.”

Cube Entertainment insisted that Lee’s dual song sales in the U.S. and South Korea is an illegal infringement of copyright and will look into its legal options.

Founded in 2006, the entertainment agency currently manages K-pop idol groups Beast, BtoB, CLC and solo artist HyunA.