Writers of the summer hit and Eurovision winner "Toy" have received a warning letter from Universal Music Group over the alleged similarity between the hit song and White Stripes' "Deven Nation Army." Accordion to a report by Israeli Keshet TV, Doron Medalie and Stav Beger, the writers and composers of the song, received a letter two weeks ago from Universal claiming copyright infringement.
We couldn’t really find any resemblance, but what do you think? Check out the video below with audio examples of both songs.
Ofer Menahem, Barzilai’s manager, said in response: “No legal claim was received, only a preliminary clarification letter on the matter.” Doron Medalie told Israeli paper, Haaretz that he cannot respond because of the legal nature of the matter.
According to Eurovision rules defined by the EBU, participating songs need to be original and if the claim turns to be ruled against Barzilai, it could theoretically disqualify "Toy" from the contest and therefore also disqualify Israel from hosting the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.
Having said that, the EBU responded to the alleged accusation saying it is paying no heed to these reports of copyright accusations. The EBU told Israeli The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that it considers the plagiarism accusations "baseless rumors."
Universal is one of four world's largest music contributions. "Toy" was distributed in the United States in late May after the musical label Sony BMB signed a contract with the Israeli company Teddy Production. Only time will tell if this warning will lead to an official legal claim.