A collective of 17 record companies filed a complaint against Twitter on June 14 for copyright infringement. The latter indeed accuses the social network of allowing its users to publish musical extracts without their permission. The platform is currently facing a $250 million fine.
If you thought you could free music content on Twitter, know that you’re wrong — at least, if that content isn’t yours. However, the rights holders do not intend to let it go so easily, as evidenced by a recent complaint filed against the social network. This Wednesday, June 14, 17 record companies came together to accuse the platform of copyright infringement.
According to the complaint, more than 1,700 songs are affected. “Twitter is the only social network that has refused to license the millions of songs available on its service”said David Israelite, president of the National Music Publishers’ Association, thus referring to TikTok and Instagram which allow the free use of musical extracts in its publications.
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Twitter faces record fine for copyright infringement
With this lawsuit, the record companies are seeking $150,000 per song released without their permission, for a total of $250 million (230 million euros). The latter evoke in particular the case of the title Umbrella of the singer Rihanna, which was the subject of a tweet having collected 221,000 views more than 15,000 likes. According to the lawsuit, around 300,000 copyright-infringing tweets have been posted since December 2021, with no attempt by Twitter to stop it.
This date is not given at random, since it corresponds to the end of negotiations between Twitter and the rights holders for the license agreement for the use of musical extracts. Such a license would cost the social network $100 million a year. However, since the arrival of Elon Musk in power, the latter has only one watchword: save money. At the risk of being fined one of the heaviest fines in its history, after that of 140 million euros imposed in 2022.
Source: New York Times