Photo Credit: Wesley Tingey
Artist Partner Group accuses Create Music Group of violating copyrights by allegedly poaching artists and uploading songs it doesn’t own to YouTube.
Publishing company and independent label Artist Partner Group (APG) has sued Create Music Group with allegations the company violated copyrights by interfering with its artists’ contracts and uploading and monetizing songs it did not own.
According to APG’s complaint, Create Music Group has engaged in multiple forms of copyright infringement, including unlawfully uploading APG artists’ songs to streaming services and collecting royalties on their behalf. The filing also argues Create intentionally approaches acts who have signed with APG and offers them YouTube monetization deals in violation of APG’s existing deals with them.
“Create and its subsidiaries wrongfully induced these artists to sign these bogus ‘contracts’ by falsely asserting that [APG was] purportedly doing a bad job exploiting their works and leaving money on the table — thereby damaging Plaintiffs’ reputation,” reads the filing. “Create and its subsidiaries further falsely induced these artists by telling them that these ‘contracts’ do not violate [APG’s] rights.”
CMG has refuted APG’s claims as “unfounded.” “We at Create Music Group find ourselves in a situation reminiscent of a classic piece of vinyl — spinning in circles over outdated grievances,” said a representative for the company. “We believe that APG, a legacy player in the industry, is struggling to adapt to the digital age and has resorted to legal theatrics in an attempt to slow down our innovative momentum.”
Founded in 2015, Create has built a name for itself in the music industry through its YouTube royalties collection business. It owns other companies such as distributor Label Engine, TikTok-focused digital media studio Flighthouse, and a majority stake in YouTube collective The Nations. Its business practices on YouTube are a significant part of APG’s complaint against the company and its subsidiaries.
But this isn’t the first time Create has drawn criticism for its tactics. At least ten executives told Billboard in 2022 of instances where Create claimed YouTube royalties to which it had no rights. “We’ve never been sued by a lawyer or manager for this activity,” said Create co-founder Jonathan Strauss at the time. “You would have to think if there was any truly egregious activity, they would do that.”
Create was initially sued in 2023 by music management company DigiGlo, with allegations it had “lost out on years of payments for its content monetization” for over 400 works on YouTube due to Create’s tactics and failure to honor contracts. Create denied these allegations, and the suit is still ongoing.