Russians robbed DREVO: details of the scandalous story
The resonant story of how a Russian artist stole the Ukrainian artist’s song “Drevo” not only received media attention and resonance, but also had a completely justified ending.
A certain R. Riccardo released the track “Dance with Me,” which was a complete rip-off of the Enkarapista hit, from first to last note. The artist’s management learned of the theft from social media.
“At first, Drevo’s listeners and I started seeing TikTok videos from this Russian. We weren’t happy about it, but TikTok is a space where users express themselves however they can and want, using popular and trending content. And this once again confirmed that Ukrainian music has no boundaries, yet it has quality,” comments the artist’s label, Sound United.
But when the Russian label decided to release the track with impunity as its own, it became a copyright infringement, and the label took action. The Russian artist’s track was blocked on all international digital platforms.
According to Drevo producer Mikhail Shiyan, the complexity of the situation is that not only related rights but also copyrights have been violated.
“Neighboring rights encompass the right to use a phonogram, that is, a recording of a performance of a musical work. Violations of these rights on digital platforms are easy to defend in the modern world—digital technologies for recognizing and blocking unauthorized use of phonograms have long existed and are in use. But in this case, the plagiarist stole the melody—a sequence of notes—and created their own phonogram with their own lyrics, vocals, and arrangement. This isn’t traceable to digital works; it requires a full investigation. Such situations, even in a technologically advanced digital environment, are highly likely to end up in court. Furthermore, when the theft occurs in a country other than the author’s or copyright holder’s, foreign copyright laws must be applied. The entire process must be completed—from noting the violation and filing complaints to communicating with platforms or even taking strong legal action,” says Drevo producer Mikhail Shiyan.
“Labels typically work on multiple fronts, including assisting with the administration of related rights and cooperating with the OCUs that collect royalties both online and offline. This significantly simplifies the artist’s life, while independent artists will have to do everything themselves. However, the main thing is to not give up and defend your creativity,” comments Mikhail Shiyan.
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