Norwegian prog pop outfit Maraton have pointed out that the cover of their single Blood Music is remarkably similar to Imagine Dragons’ cover for their song Bad Liar.

Maraton launched their track six months before Imagine Dragons released Bad Liar – with the only difference being the colours used.

Maraton have issued a good-natured statement on the situation, reporting that they paid artist beeple_crap a one-time payment to use the artwork titled Back Of The Rainbow and say that Imagine Dragons have “good taste” for using the same art.

Maraton say: “It might have come to everyone's attention that Imagine Dragons and Maraton has the same cover for our singles. Which one is cooler? Here's the story…

“Instagram is a wonderful place for art. We bought our artwork from an incredible artist called beeple_crap. We contacted him and asked him if we could buy the rights of using these photos for our singles and album.

“After much consideration we found five pieces that really suited our music perfectly. It’s really not cheap to be a musician these days, and our budget was not something to brag about.

“We payed a one-time fee for using his art, and didn't think much more of it. Suddenly we saw that Imagine Dragons had a new single coming up with the same artwork… six months after our release.

“With no deal in hand giving us the exclusive rights for the photos, we can only say one thing. Damn! They got good taste!”

Maraton were formed in 2010 and say their music blends prog, rock and pop. Their new album Meta will be released on April 26.