A team of the biggest global music publishers, including Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, and Sony Music Publishing, has launched a joint lawsuit against Twitter, alleging “massive copyright infringement” involving their music catalogues. The lawsuit, filed in Tennessee federal court, involves seventeen music publishers seeking over $250 million in damages. This legal action highlights the growing concerns of music publishers and their ask for fair compensation for the use of copyrighted music on social media platforms.
Twitter may also have knowingly allowed leaked media to circulate on the platform
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 not taken the necessary steps to prevent copyright infringement or compensate 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 failing to adequately address copyright violations and repeated infringements.
The lawsuit further states that Twitter has 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 shows up, 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, is a major part of the publishers’ case filed against the Elon Musk-owned company.
Seventeen music publishers have come together to hold Twitter accountable for copyright infringement. These publishers represent a vast array of popular artists, including Drake, Taylor Swift, and Adele. The coalition comprises 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.
The current lawsuit is not the first time Twitter has faced criticism from the music industry regarding copyright infringement. Even before Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform in October 2022, Twitter was never in the good books of music publishers.
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(Via)
