Twitter Sued for Over $250 Million by Music Publishers

A collective of prominent music publishers, which includes Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, and Sony Music Publishing, has initiated legal action against Twitter for what they claim to be “extensive copyright infringement” related to their music catalogs.

In a joint lawsuit filed in a federal court in Tennessee, seventeen music publishers representing artists such as Drake, Taylor Swift, and Adele are seeking damages exceeding $250 million.

The defendant, in this case, is X Corp, a company owned by Elon Musk that holds ownership of Twitter.

David Israelite, the chief executive of the National Music Publishers’ Association, has made a statement asserting that Twitter is the sole major social media platform that has adamantly declined to obtain licenses for the extensive repertoire of songs available on its service. Israelite emphasized that Twitter is well aware of the fact that its platform is utilized by billions of individuals daily to share, release, and stream music. He further stated that Twitter can no longer shield itself behind the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and avoid compensating songwriters and music publishers for their work.

Israelite has accused Twitter of facilitating the presence of leaked music, copyrighted music videos, and other protected material on its platform. However, according to the rules outlined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Twitter, along with other social media websites, is granted protection against copyright strikes pertaining to user-uploaded content. This protection is contingent upon their proactive efforts to remove infringing material promptly and take appropriate actions against the users responsible for the infringement.

Contrary to Twitter’s claims of promptly removing infringing content upon receiving valid reports, the lawsuit contends that the platform has consistently failed to do so.

According to the lawsuit, “Twitter asserts that it swiftly removes content following legitimate claims, often within hours or even minutes of initial reports. However, the reality, as stated in the legal document, is that Twitter routinely disregards repeat infringers and known instances of infringement. The platform allegedly refuses to take basic measures that are readily available to address and halt specific cases of infringement, despite being fully aware of their existence.”

The group of 17 music publishers involved in the lawsuit against Twitter includes 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.

When approached for comments regarding the legal action, Twitter’s press department responded with an automated message featuring the emoji symbolizing feces.

Music publishers have harbored frustrations towards Twitter for a considerable period, predating Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform in October 2022. In a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in 2020, the Recording Industry Association of America accused Twitter of failing to take any measures to curb what it referred to as “industrial scale piracy” taking place on its platform.

Twitter had been engaged in discussions regarding music licensing with the three major labels. However, these negotiations collapsed after Elon Musk assumed control of the company.

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