Music publishers sue Twitter for allowing copyrighted songs
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[June 15, 2023]
By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) - A group of 17 music publishers sued Twitter in Nashville,
Tennessee, federal court on Wednesday, accusing the company of enabling
thousands of copyright violations by allowing users to post music
without a license.
Twitter drives user engagement with "countless infringing copies of
musical compositions," the lawsuit said.
Members of the National Music Publishers' Association, including Sony
Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management and Universal Music Publishing
Group, are seeking more than $250 million in damages for alleged
infringement of nearly 1,700 copyrights.
The lawsuit said the longstanding infringement has gotten worse since
Elon Musk bought Twitter in October, and that other major platforms like
TikTok, Facebook and YouTube properly license music from the publishers.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jun/15/images/ads/current/jjtree_sda_061223.png)
NMPA President David Israelite said in a statement that Twitter "stands
alone as the largest social media platform that has completely refused
to license the millions of songs on its service."
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The Twitter logo is displayed on a
screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New
York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File
Photo/
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png) Twitter "routinely ignores" repeat
infringement by users who post tweets that contain unlicensed music,
the lawsuit said. The publishers said Twitter encourages user
infringement, which increases engagement and ad revenues while
giving it an "unfair advantage" over platforms that pay for music
licenses.
"Twitter's internal affairs regarding matters pertinent to this case
are in disarray," the publishers said, noting deep cuts to the
company's legal and trust-and-safety teams since Musk took control.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David Bario
and Richard Chang)
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