Music Publisher Hits Spotify With $1.6 Billion Lawsuit

It looks like music streaming service Spotify has run into a bit of legal trouble. Music publisher Wixen has recently sued Spotify over allegedly using thousands of songs without the proper license or compensation made to them, and are seeking damages as much as $1.6 billion as a result of it.

The publisher claims that some of the songs used by Spotify without license includes songs from the likes of Tom Petty, Neil Young and the Doors, some of which are exclusive to the publisher, meaning that Spotify would need to go to the publisher directly to get a license in order to reproduce or distribute them over its platform.

This isn’t to say that Spotify ignored the necessary rights and licenses. The lawsuit claims that Spotify had outsourced its licensing and royalties payment work to a third-party company, who Wixen says was “ill-equipped to obtain all the necessary mechanical licenses”. Spotify has declined to comment on the lawsuit, so it is unclear as to how they plan on proceeding, but presumably they are hoping to either quash it or reach some kind of amicable settlement.

This is actually not the first time Spotify has run into legal trouble, whereas previously they were sued over alleged unpaid royalties, and also for using a photo without permission.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Audio, General
Tags: Entertainment, Legal, Music, Spotify