A Brazilian court has ordered British pop singer Adele’s song, ‘Million Years Ago’, to be taken off all platforms worldwide after Brazilian composer Toninho Geraes claimed his song was plagiarized.
Judge Victor Torres of Rio de Janeiro has ordered to cease the worldwide distribution of Adele’s song by the record labels Sony Music and Universal Music, which includes streaming. Failing to comply will result in a penalty of $8,000 on the record labels for every instance but they have the right to appeal.
The judge ruled Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music to stop “immediately and globally, from using, reproducing, editing, distributing or commercializing the song ‘Million Years Ago’, by any modality, means, physical or digital support, streaming or sharing platform,” quoted news agency AFP.
Geraes claims that Adele’s 2015 smash song closely resembles his samba classic Mulheres recorded by Brazilian pop icon Martinho da Vila in 1995. He is seeking lost royalties as well as $160,000 in damages and songwriting credit on Adele’s track.
“It is a landmark for Brazilian music, which… has often been copied to compose successful international hits,” Fredimio Trotta, the lawyer for Brazilian composer Toninho Geraes told AFP.
Trotta also believes that producers and artists will pause before using Brazilian music after this ruling for fear of new such proceedings.
This isn’t the first time complaints of plagiarism have come up against Adele. In 2015, Turkish fans believed that Million Years Ago sounded similar to Acilara Tutunmak, Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya’s Clinging to Pain. Kaya’s widow defended Adele, saying it would be a stretch for a globally recognized brand to intentionally copy a song.
Brazil has no problem defending the right of advertised copyright, having signed the 1886 Berne Convention. This ruling may open up a torrent of issues for the protection of creative works at a bigger stage.
