Twitter could be on the hook for more than $250 million after the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) filed a federal copyright lawsuit claiming the social media platform “profits handsomely from its infringement of Publishers’ repertoires.”
According to Variety, the complaint filed on behalf of 17 major music publishers alleges that Twitter “fuels its business with countless infringing copies of musical compositions” and “breeds massive copyright infringement that harms music creators.” The NMPA goes even further to state the company “knowingly” hosts unlicensed material and “routinely continues to provide specific known repeat infringers with use of the Twitter platform.”
“Twitter knows perfectly well that neither it nor users of the Twitter platform have secured licenses for the rampant use of music being made on its platform as complained of herein,” the lawsuit reads. “Twitter’s unlawful conduct has caused and continues to cause substantial and irreparable harm to Publishers, their songwriter clients, and the entire music ecosystem.”
The lawsuit also notes that “numerous Twitter competitors recognize the need for proper licenses and agreements,” yet the social media company in question has “rebuffed calls for it to obtain the licenses or other agreements needed for musical compositions to be lawfully used on its platform.” The NMPA’s request for over $250 million in damages was calculated with infringement notices estimated in the hundreds of thousands for roughly 1,700 materials.
Twitter has already publicly bumped against copyright infringement issues in 2023, starting in January when a cease and desist letter delivered to Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene by Dr. Dre led to her account getting locked out. In May, the platform essentially facilitated film piracy after a new Twitter Blue feature allowed users to upload two-hour videos.
Meanwhile, Twitter’s billionaire executive chair Elon Musk hasn’t quite endeared himself to the music community since his tumultuous acquisition in 2022, receiving criticism from the likes of Trent Reznor, Jack White, and Elton John and giving a characteristically crude response on at least one occasion.