X files antitrust suit accusing music publishers of colluding on licensing

X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in Federal District Court in Dallas, accusing music publishers and their trade group, the National Music Publishers’ Association, of conspiring to force X into licensing deals. The complaint says the publishers "colluded" and "weaponized" the copyright takedown process to pressure X to accept blanket licensing agreements for songs "at inflated rates," which the suit says left the company no option to pursue smaller deals with individual publishers.

The filing seeks unspecified damages and an injunction to bar the music groups from negotiating in the manner described. The suit was filed in the Northern District of Texas, where X has been steering cases; the company instituted a 2024 policy that all user cases against it must be filed there even though X’s headquarters in Bastrop are not part of that district, and the court is known for rulings favorable to conservative litigants.

David Israelite, the chief executive of the N.M.P.A., said in a statement: "X/Twitter is the only major social media company that does not license the songs on its platform. We allege that X has engaged in copyright infringement for years, and its meritless lawsuit is a bad faith effort to distract from publishers’ and songwriters’ legitimate right to enforce against X’s illegal use of their songs." The filing is the latest episode in an ongoing dispute between X and the music industry.

Key Topics

Tech, X, Nmpa, Music Publishers, Antitrust Suit, Dmca