Member of Angra and bachelor in Musical Composition, Rafael Bittencourt signs report that supports plagiarism case against British artist
Toninho Geraes maintains his accusation of plagiarism in court against Adele and parties involved. The Brazilian composer of “Women”song released in the voice of Martinho da Vila in 1995, he claims that the British singer had copied his creation when developing “Million Years Ago”track credited to her and the producer Greg Kurstin and made available in 2015.
In an attempt to prove their point, Geraes’ defense brought a renowned national heavy metal musician to prepare a technical report. Rafael Bittencourtguitarist of Angra — and graduated in Musical Composition and Conducting —, works on the document at the request of the lawyer Deborah Sztajnberg.
The musician discussed the topic in an interview with Ruan de Sousa Gabriel for the newspaper The Globe (via Igor Miranda website). According to Bittencourt, “There are too many coincidences for everything to be nothing more than pure coincidence”. He further highlighted that “the two works can be performed simultaneously without cacophony, without tarnishing the harmony, the rhythmic idea or the melody”.
“Imagine that I ask several people to draw a train with a locomotive and seven carriages, representing the rule of eight musical bars. Wagons can be of different sizes. And each of them must have at least four layers with different textures and colors. What are the chances of two people, all over the world, drawing practically the same train?”
For Rafael, the justification of the Universal Music — involved in the case — that the composition uses a musical cliché known as Chord Progression by the Circle of Fifths is a “desperate attempt to defend an almost exact coincidence”. Widely used in popular music, the sequence of notes in question are spaced apart by perfect fifth intervals.
On the other hand, the Angra musician does not see bad faith. For him, the music may have been heard at some point and remained in the minds of the composers, who may have remembered the melody later thinking it was their creation, not someone else’s.
“I already had an idea for a song that I later discovered was a hit from Türkiye that had been released in Brazil and it probably stuck in my head.”
According to Deborah Sztajnberg, the choice of Rafael Bittencourt was strategic. The lawyer wanted an author who “he was not a samba dancer, like his client, to avoid accusations of collegiality; that he was an internationally recognized person; that dialogued with popular music and, at the same time, had a solid classical training”.
The case against Adele
Last December, the Rio de Janeiro Court determined that “Million Years Ago”music provided by Adele on the album 25 (2015), is removed from digital platforms. The reason lies in a plagiarism lawsuit filed by the Brazilian Toninho Geraesauthor of the song “Women” (released in 1995 in the voice of Martinho da Vila).
The process is still ongoing — that is, there is no confirmed plagiarism — and the track is still available on streaming. However, the judge Victor Agustin Cunhafrom the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro, indicated that “Million Years Ago” would have strong evidence “of almost integral melodic consonance” with “Women”.
The website Power360 points out that, in addition to Adele, the producer and co-author were called Greg Kurstinthe record companies Universal Music Publishing MGB Brasil Ltda and Sony Music Entertainment Brasil Ltda and the seal Beggars Group. If they reproduce or sell “Million Years Ago” Without Geraes’ authorization, they will need to pay a R$50,000 fine — and the Brazilian has already said that he will not grant permission.
According to the newspaper The GlobeUniversal Music filed an appeal seeking to overturn the injunction that vetoed the execution of “Million Years Ago”. The company argues that the range “does not violate copyright”according to “attested by two independent opinions”and that “the similarities between the two works are due, in essence, to the fact that several songs use a musical cliché known as Chord Progression by the Circle of Fifths [nota: sequência de notas distanciadas por intervalos de quinta justa]”. An excerpt from the defense, presented by journalist Ancelmo Gois, states:
“The granting of the injunction is disproportionate and causes reverse damage to the Defendants, since the immediate suspension of ‘Million Years Ago’ will cause significant economic losses and compromise the artistic freedom of those involved, especially considering the popularity and cultural impact of their productions.”
The fundamental video according to lawyer
In an interview with the newspaper The State of S. PauloToninho Geraes’ lawyer, Fredímio Biasotto Trottapointed out that the decision is global, not just national, and “unprecedented in the history of Brazilian music as it was spoken at the beginning of the process and in a case of international plagiarism”. It is worth remembering that Jorge Ben Jor has already won an action of this type against Rod Stewarthowever, decades ago — that is, when there were no streaming platforms yet — and without a similar deliberation right away.
Still according to Trotta, a video published on his YouTube channel proved, in his view, as “the greatest evidence of plagiarism brought to the process so far”. It is a record where a group of musicians, including the singer Ju Viannainterprets simultaneously “Million Years Ago” and “Women”aiming to overlap the compositions. According to the lawyer, the idea of the version — which adjusts tone and rhythm — is “eliminate some of the compositional or interpretative disguises of those responsible for plagiarism”.
The footage — which, as pointed out by the lawyer, is cited in the court decision — can be seen in the player below. If the video does not open, click here to access directly on YouTube.
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Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
