Major music publishers under the umbrella of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) in Nashville, Tennessee, have initiated legal proceedings against Twitter, seeking a colossal $250 million in damages. The social media giant stands accused of copyright infringement concerning approximately 1,700 musical works.
Prominent plaintiffs include Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Big Machine Music. The lawsuit alleges that Twitter has significantly profited from copyright infringements of their music catalog.
According to the lawsuit, the implicated audio and audio-visual recordings have driven user engagement and retention, thereby bolstering Twitter’s advertising business and other revenue streams.
The counts Twitter faces include direct copyright infringement, contributory infringement, and vicarious infringement.
The lawsuit points out a thriving market where social media platforms pay fees for using musical compositions. Unlike Twitter, social media counterparts like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have agreements with publishers to remunerate creators for their works.
Furthermore, the lawsuit asserts that Twitter’s actions are hurting the “dynamic” market for individual music streams and downloads, infringing on publishers’ rights and causing substantial harm to songwriters and the music ecosystem as a whole.
The music publishers claimed they were left with no choice but to take legal action after Twitter repeatedly declined to obtain the required licenses or agreements for music use on its platform.
This news is based on an article from marketing-interactive.com.
