Who Released John Park's Viral McDonald's Rap Without His Permission?

Singers John Park and Kwak Jin-eon never released their viral "McDonald's Order Rap" as an official song. However, a version of it has appeared on music streaming platforms under another artist's name without their permission, prompting their agency to take action.

Music Farm Entertainment, which represents both singers, issued a statement on Nov. 11. "We recently confirmed that the 'McDonald's Order Rap' track was registered and distributed on overseas music platforms without prior consent from our company or the original creators," the agency said.

The lyrics were written by John Park and Kwak, while John Park composed and arranged the music.

According to the agency, the track was registered on Nov. 2 through Jungle Entertainment Ventures, a company based in Nigeria. It appeared under the artist name Yoyotina with the title "McDonald's" on platforms including Spotify and YouTube Music.

The original rap first appeared on Oct. 23 in a video posted to John Park's YouTube channel, "John or Park?" In the video, John Park and Kwak take rap lessons from rapper Loco before visiting a McDonald's restaurant and ordering food by rapping.

The video quickly gained attention. McDonald's later used the rap in an advertisement and introduced a "John Park Set." The rap itself was never officially released as a song.

The unauthorized track reportedly includes the rap and background music from the original video, along with a new chorus and female vocals. It also features new lyrics performed by a voice resembling John Park's, raising questions about whether AI was used to imitate his voice. The use of AI has not been confirmed.

"Music is a valuable creative work, and the effort and rights of its creators should be respected," Music Farm Entertainment said. "Using and distributing it for commercial purposes without the original creator's consent could violate the creator's rights. We believe the first step is to confirm the exact facts and whether any rights were violated."

The agency also raised concerns about the growing use of AI to reproduce creative works and voices without permission.

"With recent advances in AI technology and changes in how music is distributed around the world, there are more and more cases of people using others' creative work or voices without permission," it said. "Now is a time when closer attention and action are needed to protect creators' rights."

Music Farm Entertainment said it is working with experts in South Korea and abroad to investigate how the track was registered and distributed.

"We are in talks with the relevant platforms and organizations to remove the illegally distributed track and stop any further distribution," the agency said.

It added that it is considering further measures to protect the rights of the original creators and artists.

"Music Farm will continue to act responsibly so that our artists' creative work and rights are respected," the agency said.