In a case filed on Wednesday, a coalition of 17 music publishers has taken legal action against Twitter in a federal court in Nashville, Tennessee. The publishers, including Sony Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, and Universal Music Publishing Group, are accusing the social media giant of facilitating thousands of copyright violations by allowing users to post unauthorized music. The lawsuit claims that Twitter has been endorsing copyright infringement by allowing the proliferation of countless illegal copies of musical compositions, resulting in a negative impact on the industry.
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), which represents the plaintiffs, is seeking over $250 million in damages for the alleged infringement of nearly 1,700 copyrights. The lawsuit asserts that the issue of copyright infringement has worsened since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October. Moreover, it highlights that other major platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube have appropriately licensed music from the publishers, making Twitter an outlier in this regard.
Various well-known artists, including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran, the Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert, and Rihanna, are affiliated with the publishers involved in the suit. Despite these allegations, Twitter has not yet provided a comment on the matter.
According to the lawsuit, Twitter knowingly disregards repeat infringements by users who share tweets containing unlicensed music. This conduct encourages infringement, thereby boosting user engagement and advertising revenue for the platform. Consequently, Twitter gains an unfair advantage over other platforms that actually pay for music licenses. The publishers also noted that the company’s legal and trust-and-safety teams have experienced significant downsizing since Musk’s takeover, further complicating matters related to this case.
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