A team of major global music publishers, including Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, and Sony Music Publishing, has collectively filed a lawsuit against Twitter, accusing the platform of “massive copyright infringement” involving their music catalogues. The lawsuit, filed in Tennessee federal court, involves seventeen music publishers seeking damages exceeding $250 million. This legal action sheds light on the growing concerns of music publishers, who are demanding fair compensation for the use of copyrighted music on social media platforms.
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) CEO, David Israelite, emphasized Twitter’s refusal to obtain licenses for the millions of songs present on its platform. Unlike other major social media platforms, Twitter has neglected to take the necessary steps to prevent copyright infringement or provide compensation to songwriters and music publishers. Despite being protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which shields social media platforms from copyright strikes related to user-uploaded content, Twitter is accused of inadequately addressing copyright violations and repeated infringements.
The lawsuit alleges that Twitter knowingly allowed leaked music, copyrighted music videos, and other copyrighted material to circulate on its platform. While Twitter claims to remove infringing content whenever it is reported, the music publishers argue that the company frequently ignores repeat infringers and known instances of infringement. Twitter’s alleged failure to take basic measures to prevent specific instances of infringement, despite being aware of them, forms a significant part of the publishers’ case against the company owned by Elon Musk.
Seventeen music publishers have united to hold Twitter accountable for copyright infringement. This coalition represents a wide range of popular artists, including Drake, Taylor Swift, and Adele. The publishers involved in the lawsuit include ABKCO Music, Anthem Entertainment, Big Machine Music, BMG Rights Management, Concord, Hipgnosis, Kobalt, Mayimba, Peer, Reservoir Media Management, Sony Music Publishing, Spirit Music Group, the Royalty Network, Ultra Music Publishing, Universal Music Group Publishing, Warner Chappell, and Wixen.
This lawsuit is not the first instance of Twitter facing criticism from the music industry regarding copyright infringement. Even prior to Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform in October 2022, Twitter had a contentious relationship with music publishers.
