Justin Bieber, Dan & Shay hit with copyright lawsuit over 2019 song '10,000 Hours’

Justin Bieber collaborated with the notable country music artists, Dan & Shay in 2019 for the song, 10,000 Hours from the duo's fourth studio album titled Good Things. While the song was a massive hit among the audience, it was recently revealed that the musicians landed in trouble as they were hit with a copyright lawsuit over the song by a company named 'Melomega'. 

Justin Bieber, Dan & Shay land in trouble for their 2019 hit song 10,000 Hours

According to Variety, it was revealed that Justin Bieber and Dan & Shay were hit by a copyright lawsuit that claimed they took the core portion of their song 10,000 Hours from a 1980 song called The First Time Baby Is A Holiday. The complaint was filed by a company named Melomega on Thursday in Los Angeles federal court. 

In the complaint, it was stated that one only needs to listen to the 1980s song and spot similarities between them while adding that the similarities were not substantial. Further, it was also claimed that the defendants copied the core portion of Plaintiff's song which included the chorus, verse and hook.

The complaint also stated the fact that their case was different from other high profile ones in which “as few as 6 to 7 consecutive notes” were copied.

The complaint read, "One need only listen to ‘First Time’ and the infringing ‘10,000 Hours’ to discern the unmistakable similarities between the songs. 10,000 Hours’ is not just substantially similar to ‘First Time’; defendants copied, in minute detail, the most important, core portion of plaintiff’s song, which includes the chorus, verse and hook. The similarities are so striking that ‘10,000 Hours’ simply cannot have been independently created. Here, in contrast, several 47-note sections of ‘10,000 Hours’ are virtually identical to parallel sections of ‘First Time.' Such a lengthy expression of largely identical musical composition is nothing less than strikingly similar.”

The claims were later supported by musicologist Dr Alexander Stewart who stated that it was an “ineluctable conclusion that defendants stole plaintiff’s song.” On the other hand, it is a lesser-known fact that although 'The First Time Baby Is A Holiday' was copyrighted in 1980, the complaint stated that the song was released in 2014 by the Orchard, owned by Sony Music. 

Image: AP