Did BTS song 'Swim' copy another track?

A new copyright lawsuit has placed BTS's chart topping single "Swim" at the centre of a legal dispute, with three songwriters alleging that the global hit copied significant elements from an unpublished demo they created before the song's release.

According to court documents filed on July 8, songwriters Steve Cooper, Jon Sandler and Greylyn Johnson claim that "Swim", released by BTS earlier this year as the lead single from ARIRANG, bears substantial similarities to their own composition carrying the same title.

The lawsuit names HYBE, HYBE America, Big Hit Music and several credited songwriters behind BTS's version as defendants. BTS and its individual members have not been named personally in the legal action.

In the complaint, the three writers argue that after listening to BTS's song several times, they reached what they described as an "obvious and inescapable conclusion" that their original work had been copied "in very large part".

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for alleged copyright infringement and claim that distinctive musical and lyrical elements from their demo were reproduced in the commercially released version.

A central issue in any copyright infringement case is whether the defendants had access to the earlier work before creating their own song. Cooper, Sandler and Johnson argue that they began circulating their demo in March 2025 to various music industry contacts in hopes of securing opportunities for the track.

According to the lawsuit, the demo was allegedly shared with executives at Artist Publishing Group, who the plaintiffs claim listened to the recording and distributed it to others, including individuals who later became involved in writing BTS's "Swim". Those allegations have not been proven in court.

To support their case, the plaintiffs hired musicologist Alexander Stewart to conduct an expert analysis comparing both recordings. His report, quoted extensively in the complaint, concludes that several musical features were allegedly taken from the earlier demo.

Stewart identified what he described as similarities involving the song's central hook, harmonies, textures, rhythmic structure and lyrical elements. He wrote that, in his expert opinion, the combination of similarities made independent creation unlikely and copying the most probable explanation.

Stewart has previously appeared as an expert witness in several high profile music copyright cases, including legal disputes involving Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud and Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven. In both of those cases, courts ultimately ruled in favour of the defendants despite his involvement.

The complaint also states that the three songwriters attempted to resolve the matter privately before filing the lawsuit. According to the filing, their representatives contacted HYBE but the discussions did not lead to an agreement.