Twitter could be on the hook for more than $250 million after the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) filed a federal copyright lawsuit alleging that the social media platform “makes huge profits from its infringement of publishers’ material.”
according to diverseThe complaint, filed on behalf of 17 major music publishers, alleges that Twitter “feeds its business with countless infringing copies of musical compositions” and “generates massive copyright infringement that harms music creators.” The NMPA goes so far as to state that the company “knowingly” hosts unauthorized material and “continues to routinely serve specific known repeat offenders using the Twitter platform.”
“Twitter knows very well that neither it nor users of the Twitter platform have secured licenses for the pervasive use of music performed on its platform as complained herein,” the lawsuit reads. Twitter’s illegal behavior has caused and continues to cause significant and irreparable harm to publishers, their songwriter customers, and the entire music system.
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The suit also notes that “many of Twitter’s competitors recognize the need for appropriate licenses and agreements,” yet “the social media company in question has denied calls for licenses or other agreements necessary to legally use music tracks on its platform.” NMPA for damages of more than $250 million through hundreds of thousands of infringement notices for nearly 1,700 articles.
Twitter has already railed against copyright infringement issues in 2023 publicly, starting in January when a cease and desist letter delivered to Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene by Dr. Dre led to her account being closed. In May, the platform essentially made movie piracy easier after a new Twitter Blue feature allowed users to upload two-hour videos.
Meanwhile, billionaire Twitter CEO Elon Musk hasn’t quite endeared himself to the music community since his turbulent 2022 takeover, taking criticism from the likes of Trent Reznor, Jack White and Elton John and delivering a characteristically blunt response to at least one. Occasions.
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