THE BIG STORY: The Beastie Boys and Universal Music Group both reached settlements to end copyright lawsuits in which they accused Chili’s of using their songs in videos posted to TikTok, Instagram and other platforms – part of a flood of recent litigation over music on social media.
The cases, filed last year, claimed the restaurant chain featured copyrighted music in what amounted to advertisements on social media. The UMG case involved songs by Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg and dozens of other artists, but the problem was particularly galling for the Beastie Boys, a group that’s long been famously opposed to their music appearing in ads.
When it comes to music, social media has increasingly become a legal minefield for brands. TikTok, Instagram and other services provide their users with huge libraries of fully licensed songs to play over their videos, but those tracks are strictly for personal use and cannot be used for commercial videos. That kind of content requires a separate “synch” license, just like any conventional advertisement on TV.
That distinction appears to have been lost on many brands. Sony filed a lawsuit against Marriott last year for allegedly using nearly 1,000 of its songs in social media posts, and Kobalt and other publishers sued more than a dozen NBA teams over the same thing a few months later. In March, Sony sued the University of Southern California for allegedly using Michael Jackson and AC/DC songs on in videos hyping its college sports teams. Then last month, Warner Music filed a case against cookie chain Crumbl, claiming it used songs by Lizzo, Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande and Beyoncé without clearing them.
What comes next? For music owners, you should take a swing through TikTok and see if any big companies are profiting off your songs. For brand owners, experts tell Billboard they need to be taking “proactive steps” to fix the problem before it turns into a costly lawsuit.
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Other top stories this week…
DIDDY TRIAL GOES ON – The Diddy trial continued in its second week, with blockbuster testimony from Kid Cudi about how he believes that the indicted mogul once broke into his house and ordered someone to torch his Porsche with a Molotov cocktail. To get up to speed on the trial, go read our full recap of the first two weeks.
LIL WAYNE LAWSUIT – Darius “Deezle” Harrison, a producer on Lil Wayne’s hit album 2008’s Tha Carter III, sued Universal Music Group over allegations that he’s owed more than 10 years’ worth of royalties from the chart-topping record – a figure he says totals more than $3 million. His lawyers say he has not been paid royalties from the album in over a decade.
HITTING BACK – Months after hip-hop producer Madlib filed a lawsuit against his former manager and business partner Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, the exec sued him right back — blasting him for “having the audacity to bring this mean-spirited personal action.” The countersuit accused Madlib of a wide range of “misconduct” following the sudden end of their long partnership, including promising to release music by the late Mac Miller that he doesn’t own.
IS IT OVER NOW? – Justin Baldoni dropped his subpoena of Taylor Swift in his messy legal battle against her friend Blake Lively – that Swift’s reps had fiercely criticized as “tabloid clickbait.” Baldoni’s lawyers had sought communications between the Swift and Lively teams, citing anonymous accusations that Lively asked Swift to delete text messages and demanded a statement of support. But a judge quickly struck those claims from the case docket as improper, irrelevant and “potentially libelous.”
LILES CLAIMS EXTORTION – Record exec Kevin Liles claimed that a rapper named Lady Luck was trying to extort him by falsely accusing him of sexual assault in the 2000s. He said her lawyers threatened to publicize the “utterly false and horrendous allegations” if he didn’t pay them $30 million: “I intend to vigorously fight any complaint she may file and will take whatever legal action is necessary against her and the attorneys who have participated in this attempted shakedown.” The new dispute is unrelated to another sexual assault lawsuit against Liles filed by an unnamed woman earlier this year, which he is seeking to have dismissed.
MEGAN BLASTS TORY – Megan Thee Stallion’s legal team fired back at recent claims of new evidence that would exonerate Tory Lanez, who was convicted in 2022 of shooting the rapper. Lanez’s supporters say there’s new surveillance footage and a new witness who can ID a different shooter, but Megan’s lawyers issued a detailed report rejecting those claims: “One by one, their misleading statements unravel and all that is left is the simple truth: he was convicted by overwhelming evidence.”
BOWLING ALLEY BRAWL – DaBaby won a court order tossing out assault and battery claims over a 2022 bowling-alley brawl with Brandon Curiel, the brother of his ex-girlfriend DaniLeigh, after a judge ruled that the rapper had not been properly served for years. Though the case against DaBaby was dismissed, the rapper could still be on the hook financially as the case continues against the bowling alley where the attack allegedly occurred.
FORTNITE PATENT VERDICT – Epic Games, the company behind the video game Fortnite, defeated a $32.5 million patent lawsuit over animated in-game concerts put on by Travis Scott and Ariana Grande. A company called Utherverse Digital claimed Epic infringed its virtual reality patents when it staged the virtual concerts for tens of millions of Fortnite gamers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a jury in Seattle said neither the Scott nor the Grande concert used Utherverse’s technology.
