Why did X Corp sue music publishers?

X Corp sued music publishers, alleging they conspired to block competition and force the platform to buy music licenses at inflated prices.

What antitrust violations are alleged by X Corp?

X Corp alleges that music publishers violated federal antitrust law by refusing to negotiate individual licensing deals and colluding to raise prices.

How are music publishers allegedly pressuring X?

Publishers are allegedly flooding X with takedown notices for copyrighted music to pressure the platform into accepting industry-wide licensing terms.

Home / Business and Economy / Musk's X Battles Publishers in Antitrust Lawsuit

Musk's X Battles Publishers in Antitrust Lawsuit

10 Jan

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Summary

X Corp filed an antitrust lawsuit against 18 music publishers.
The lawsuit alleges publishers conspired to inflate music license costs.
X claims publishers used takedown notices to force industry-wide deals.

Musk's X Battles Publishers in Antitrust Lawsuit

X Corp has initiated a significant antitrust lawsuit against 18 major music publishers and the National Music Publishers' Association. Filed in a federal district court in Texas, the suit alleges that these entities colluded to block competition and compel X to acquire music licenses at excessive costs. The platform asserts that it has been unfairly denied the opportunity to secure competitive licensing agreements for musical works.

The lawsuit contends that publishers representing over 90% of U.S. copyrighted music joined forces through the NMPA to conspire against X. X claims these publishers have weaponized copyright by issuing numerous weekly takedown notices for posts containing music. This tactic, X alleges, aims to pressure the platform into accepting restrictive industry-wide licensing terms, leading to the removal of thousands of posts and suspension of over 50,000 users.