If accusations of plagiarism regularly shake up the Music world, two cases are making the news. First of all, Gilbert Montagné was condemned for having plagiarized his famous hit “On va s’aimer” on the title “Une fille de France” by the Italian artist Gianni Nazzaro. The French musician as well as the lyricist Didier Barbelivien are now deprived of copyright, even though they have appealed to the Court of Cassation. The other case concerns one of pop’s biggest superstars: Adele. While she has just finished her residency in Las Vegas and is preparing to take a long break, the British diva is also accused of plagiarism. Not for one of his big hits like “Hello”, “Someone Like You” or “Skyfall” but for “Million Years Ago”, a track from his last album “25” released in 2015.
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Did Adele plagiarize a cult Brazilian samba title?
Indeed, the Brazilian composer Toninho Geraes believes that “Million Years Ago” is a copy of the melody of his song “Mulheres”, popularized by Martinho da Vila, samba star, in 1995. He thus filed a complaint for plagiarism and a Brazilian judge has delivered his radical verdict: he orders a worldwide ban on the reproduction of Adele’s song, streamed more than 223 million times on Spotify. Following this legal decision, the Brazilian branches of Sony and Universal Music are banned from to use, reproduce, edit, distribute or commercialize [“Million Years Ago”] globally [et] under any support » under penalty of a fine of 50,000 reais, or approximately 7,800 euros. While the complaint is being analyzed, Toninho Geraes is demanding one million reais (around 156,000 euros) in damages.
“A turning point for Brazilian music”
For Fredimio Trotta, the lawyer of the composer Toninho Geraes, this decision represents “ a turning point for Brazilian music, which, due to the richness of its melodies, harmony and rhythms, is often copied to compose international hits “. And should “ deter » other similar attempts at plagiarism. According to the Brazilian newspaper Globothe musician’s lawyer says he warned Adele and his teams in 2021 but they never responded.
The composer would have been “ stunned » upon discovering the resemblance between the two songs. For its part, Sony Music says it has not prepared a statement in response, while Universal Music has remained silent. This is not the first time that the song “Million Years Ago” has found itself at the heart of controversy: Internet users have spotted similarities between Adele’s ballad and the melody of “Acilara tutunmak”, the artist’s song Kurd Ahmet Kaya, disappeared in 2000.
