BTS's agency has denied allegations that "SWIM," the title track of the group's fifth studio album "Arirang," was plagiarized.
Big Hit Music said Friday that "the lawsuit is nothing more than a one-sided claim by the plaintiffs," adding that "SWIM is clearly an independent creative work" and that the company "plans to respond firmly through legal proceedings."
Billboard reported Thursday that three obscure Los Angeles-based songwriters — Steve Cooper, John Sandler and Graelyn Johnson — filed a lawsuit against the composers of "SWIM."
The defendants named in the suit include Hybe, Hybe America and Big Hit Music, as well as Ryan Tedder, a former member of the band OneRepublic. Billboard said BTS member RM is also among the song's credited composers, but neither BTS nor its individual members were named as defendants.
The plaintiffs said they wrote a demo track with the same title and sent it to executives at Artist Publishing Group and others in the industry beginning in March last year. They also claimed to have shared the demo with some of the composers credited on BTS's version. BTS released "SWIM" in March this year.
The plaintiffs also argued that BTS worked on the "Arirang" album in Los Angeles in 2025, meeting with various songwriters and producers to select B-sides, and pointed to the Netflix documentary "BTS: The Return" as further evidence, noting that it references a song titled "SWIM."
The plaintiffs alleged substantial similarities between BTS's "SWIM" and their demo. Alexander Stewart, a musicologist retained by the plaintiffs, said the similarities span "from the hook referencing the title to distinctive harmonic, textural, rhythmic and lyrical elements." From an expert standpoint, he said, it was "an inescapable conclusion" that "SWIM" was copied rather than an original BTS creation.
Stewart has previously been involved in plagiarism cases involving Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," both of which were ultimately dismissed.
"SWIM" is the title track of "Arirang," BTS's fifth full-length album released in March 2026, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 immediately after its release.
paq@heraldcorp.com
