Meta using songs by Eminem and other artists without permission, lawsuit alleges

27 Jun Meta using songs by Eminem and other artists without permission, lawsuit alleges

Detroit rapper Eminem’s music publishing company is suing Meta, alleging the social media giant made its songs available to users without permission. 

The lawsuit filed Friday alleges that the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp didn’t secure proper licensing to store, reproduce or distribute Eight Mile Style’s songs.

According to the lawsuit, Meta’s online music libraries have 243 songs controlled by Eight Mile Style that users can attach to their posts. 

The lawsuit alleges that Meta has known it needs a license to reproduce and distribute music. In 2020, Meta entered into a license agreement with Audiam, a digital music royalty collection firm. At that time, Meta unsuccessfully negotiated an Eight Mile Style license as part of the Audiam license.

The filing states Meta is committing copyright infringement, inducement of copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement and vicarious copyright infringement, and is making money off the use of Eight Mile Style’s songs.