Twitter sued for copyright infringement by Sony Music, UMG and more
Written by WOM writer on June 15, 2023
The social media platform is being sued for $250 million due to a reported “rampant infringement” of copyrighted music.
Twitter is being sued for $250 million due to alleged copyright infringement.
A lawsuit has been filed in Tennessee (USA) by a coalition of 17 music industry bodies, with plaintiffs including huge music publishers such as Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Group, Warner Chappell, BMG and more.
The lawsuit seeks to claim $250 million in damages for “hundreds of thousands” of alleged infringements of approximately 1,700 pieces of music. As opposed to other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, Twitter has reportedly not negotiated music licensing agreements with music copyright holders.
Elon Musk purchased the platform for $44 billion last year, and the lawsuit claims that although infringement was a problem before the sale, it has not improved since Musk’s ownership.
The court document states [via Music Business Worldwide], states that Twitter is “rife with copyright infringement” and also claims that, “Twitter knows perfectly well that neither it nor users of the Twitter platform have secured licences for the rampant use of music being made on its platform as complained of herein”.
It continues, “Nonetheless, in connection with its highly interactive platform, Twitter consistently and knowingly hosts and streams infringing copies of musical compositions, including ones uploaded by or streamed to Tennessee residents and including specific infringing material that Twitter knows is infringing.
“Twitter also routinely continues to provide specific known repeat infringers with use of the Twitter platform, which they use for more infringement.”
In a statement shared on Wednesday (14 June), David Israelite, CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), which represents the interests of major and independent publishers in the US, commented on the lawsuit: “Twitter stands alone as the largest social media platform that has completely refused to licence the millions of songs on its service.
He added: “Twitter knows full well that music is leaked, launched, and streamed by billions of people every day on its platform. No longer can it hide behind the DMCA and refuse to pay songwriters and music publishers.”
Source: Rachel Roberts – musictech.com
