Music publishers file a lawsuit against Twitter over copyright infringement

It comes as no surprise ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter, the social media giant has been under a slew of controversies and lawsuits. Now, in a recent development, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), on behalf of 17 prominent music publishers, has filed a lawsuit against Twitter for hosting an abundance of unauthorized copies of musical compositions, thus violating the exclusive rights of publishers.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Tennessee, is seeking over $250 million in damages, alleging that the platform infringed thousands of copyrighted works from major publishers like Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, The Royalty Network, Anthem Entertainment, and Concord.

Additionally, the lawsuit highlights that nearly all other major social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok, have successfully established licensing deals with music publishers. And although Twitter is not as music-centric as TikTok, the plaintiffs take issue with users incorporating copyrighted music into Twitter videos.

However, it’s important to note the platform engaged in negotiations with music publishers to secure a licensing agreement prior to Musk’s acquisition, but discussions failed due to the platform’s reluctance to bear associated costs.

Highlighting Musk’s tweets

To make matters worse for Twitter, the lawsuit utilizes Elon Musk’s own tweets against him, referencing his public criticisms of copyright law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Furthermore, Musk’s recent decision to allow Blue subscribers to upload videos up to 3 hours long also indirectly contributes to the allegations of copyright infringement.

“Twitter stands alone as the largest social media platform that has completely refused to license the millions of songs on its service. Twitter knows full well that music is leaked, launched, and streamed by billions of people every day on its platform. No longer can it hide behind the DMCA and refuse to pay songwriters and music publishers,” said David Israelite, president of the National Music Publishers’ Association trade group.