White Stripes' Jack White gets writing credit for Israel's Eurovision hit 'Toy'

The hit song “Toy” that won Israel the 2018 Eurovision has now added to its credits Jack White as one of the co-writers following a controversy that could have stripped Israel of the crown.

A couple months after singer Netta Barzilai won Israel the international competition over the summer, writers of the catchy tune, songwriters Israeli songwriters and music producers Doron Medalie and Stav Beger received a letter from Universal Music Group (UMG) charging that the similarities in rhythm and harmony to The White Stripe’s similarly bassy 2003 hit, ‘Seven Nation Army’, written by Jack White.

Although reports suggested the Medalie and Beger were threatened with a copyright infringement lawsuit, Barzilai downplayed the severity of the incident saying at the time, saying that “no legal claim was received, only a preliminary clarification letter on the matter,” Haaretz reported.

Medalie apparently traveled to the United States in an effort to solve the “immense crisis.”

The resolution seems amicable, as no lawsuit was ever filed, but UMG’s Jack White will now share in the royalties for the song.

While such incidents of creative “sharing” occurs often in the music world -- especially today with the heavy use of sampling in electronic music -- it is hard to know exactly what exactly transpired, since a non-disclosure agreement restricts the parties from discussing the issue.

When Israel debuted ‘Toy’ as its Eurovision entry in March, it immediately won acclaim for its catchy tune, timely lyrics and eccentric introduction featuring high-pitched trills, clucks, and bucks. It was a favorite to win throughout the competition.

At the time, Haaretz’s music critic Ben Shalev wrote that the refrain in which Netta sings “I’m not your toy, stupid boy” closely resembles the White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’.

“Let’s hope Jack White doesn’t hear this song before the Eurovision Song Contest. He may sue,” he wrote.

Universal Music Studios is one of the four largest music corporations in the world and manages some of the industry’s biggest names, including Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga, among others.