Twitter is facing a $250 million lawsuit filed by a group of 17 music publishers in the United States. The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has accused the social media platform of facilitating copyright infringements involving nearly 1,700 songs. The NMPA claims that Twitter allows and encourages such infringement for profit.
The lawsuit, filed at the Federal District Court in Nashville, alleges that despite Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company, the situation has not improved. Major music firms, including Sony Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, and Universal Music Publishing Group, are among the NMPA’s members involved in the lawsuit. They argue that Twitter continues to “reap huge profits from the availability of unlicensed music without paying the necessary licensing fees for it”.
It added that the infringements have given Twitter an “unfair advantage” over competitors – including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat – which pay for music licenses.
In a statement, the NMPA president, David Israelite, stated that Twitter “stands alone as the largest social media platform that has completely refused to license the millions of songs on its service.”
The NMPA further criticized Twitter’s post-acquisition performance, claiming that the company’s internal affairs related to copyright matters are in disarray. The association cited downsizing of critical departments involved in content review, resignations of trust and safety chiefs, and alleged negligence in addressing known repeat infringers and infringements. Twitter has undergone significant changes since Musk’s acquisition, including a substantial reduction in workforce and alterations to account verification and abuse tracking.
