Big Hit Music has denied allegations that BTS\u2018s single SWIM copied a song written by three US songwriters.<\/p>\n
The HYBE subsidiary, which manages BTS, told MBW on Friday (July 10) that the track is an independent creation and that it will respond via \u201cthe appropriate legal process\u201d.<\/p>\n
The statement follows a copyright complaint filed against HYBE<\/a> and the credited writers of SWIM on Wednesday (July 8).<\/p>\n \u201cThe allegations in the lawsuit are unilateral and unsubstantiated,\u201d Big Hit Music said.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018SWIM\u2019 is an independent creation. We will respond firmly through the appropriate legal process,\u201d the BTS label added.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018SWIM\u2019 is an independent creation. We will respond firmly through the appropriate legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n BIGHIT MUSIC<\/p>\n The three songwriters allege that SWIM, the lead single from BTS\u2018s album Arirang, reproduces a demo of the same name that they wrote and recorded in early 2025, as reported by MBW<\/a>.<\/p>\n BTS worked on Arirang in Los Angeles in 2025, meeting songwriters and producers to select material, the complaint says.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs, Steve Cooper<\/a>, Jon Sandler and Greylyn Johnson, say they sent the recording to industry contacts, including the publisher Artist Publishing Group.<\/p>\n A listening report from the platform Disco.ac, attached to the complaint as an exhibit, shows representatives at the publisher played the demo, according to the filing.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs registered their SWIM composition with the US Copyright Office, according to a certificate attached to the complaint.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs say the demo reached writers who worked on BTS\u2018s SWIM, and commissioned a musicologist, Alexander Stewart, to compare the two songs.<\/p>\n Stewart concluded that independent creation of the BTS track \u201ccan be ruled out and copying is the inescapable conclusion,\u201d according to the complaint.<\/p>\n The lawsuit names HYBE Co., HYBE America and Big Hit Music, along with the credited writers of SWIM, including Derrick Milano, James Essien and Ryan Tedder.<\/p>\n BTS\u2018s members are not named as defendants, nor are RM and the HYBE producer Pdogg, who are both credited as writers of SWIM.<\/p>\n The songwriters are seeking an injunction against further use of SWIM, along with damages and a share of the profits generated by the BTS track.<\/p>\n In the alternative, they ask to be credited as co-writers of \u201cnearly all\u201d of BTS\u2018s SWIM, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs say they approached HYBE and the other defendants before filing the complaint, but that the two sides did not reach a resolution.<\/p>\n The complaint is the third US copyright suit filed against HYBE in two months.<\/p>\n In May, four Los Angeles songwriters sued HYBE, ADOR and NewJeans<\/a> over the 2024 single How Sweet, which they said was built from a demo they had submitted and been told would not be used.<\/p>\n On Tuesday (July 7), New York publisher All Surface Publishing sued the same companies<\/a> over NewJeans\u2018 2023 track ETA.<\/p>\n ADOR, the HYBE label behind NewJeans, denied the How Sweet allegations, saying \u201cno form of copying or infringement took place.\u201d<\/p>\n