JERUSALEM (JTA) — The European Broadcasting Union is continuing plans to host the 2019 edition of Eurovision in Israel despite accusations of plagiarism against the song that won this year’s edition.
The EBU told The Jerusalem Post late last week that it considers accusations against Israel’s song “Toy” as “baseless rumors.”
Songwriters Doron Medalie and Stav Beger received a letter last week from the Universal Music Group claiming that “Toy” was plagiarized from the White Stripes’ signature song, “Seven Nation Army,” released in 2003.
The letter requests clarification stemming from the similarity of the harmonic progression in the chorus of “Toy.” No lawsuit has been filed.
Among the possible solutions would be for Medalie and Beger to turn over the Eurovision-winning song’s rights to Universal, which would make the company the song’s publisher and distributor, the Israeli daily Yediot Acharonot reported.
Israel won the right to host the 2019 Eurovision after singer Netta Barzilai won the competition in May.
Four Israeli cities are said to meet the criteria to host Eurovision and submit bids: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Eilat.
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