Spotify Sued Over Unauthorized Use Of Notorious B.I.G Photo

Just like Apple Music and other music streaming services, there are usually photos accompanying the albums and songs of an artist. This helps identify the artist and allows them to update the images when a new song or a new album is released. However it seems that Spotify has recently been hit with a lawsuit over an unauthorized photo.

The photo in question (as you can see in the screenshot above) is that of Notorious B.I.G, one of the more influential rappers from back in the day before his untimely passing. The photo in question was shot by Dana Lixenberg and according to her, Spotify did not get her permission to use her photo on its platform.

According to the lawsuit it reads, “Not content to solely rip off the musicians on whose backs Spotify has built an 8 billion dollar company, Spotify has expanded its efforts to also include ripping off photographers.” Lixenberg is now seeking profits, statutory damages, costs, and legal fees should she succeed in her lawsuit.

However that’s not all as it seems that the company that supplied the photo, All Media Network, is similarly being sued over the fact that they apparently gave Spotify to use an image that they did not have the rights to supply in the first place.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Audio
Tags: Legal, Spotify