Eminem’s publishing company files copyright lawsuit against Meta

Legendary rapper Eminem’s publishing company, Eight Mile Style, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, suing the company for $109 million.

According to E! Entertainment, Eight Mile Style is accusing the tech giant of violating the copyright of 243 songs from his catalogue through the “unauthorised storage, reproduction and exploitation” of the tracks on their platform, writes Music News Blitz’s Shameeka Voyiya.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday, cites the app’s features, including Original Audio and Reels, as tools that “allow and encourage its users to steal” his music to use in video content “without proper attribution or license”.

According to the court document, “Meta executives have actively encouraged such rampant infringement in order to attract as many users as possible to, among other things, make advertising on their services more profitable for themselves.”

The company is also suing the tech giant for earning money from the use of Eminem’s (real name Marshall Mathers) 243 songs.

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Not directly involved

While Eminem himself is not directly involved in the lawsuit, his publishing company is seeking $150,000 per song per platform, adding up to over a million in damages.

They are also seeking a court order to stop Meta from unlawfully distributing the musician’s songs.

The court document also states that following the recognition that it does not have a license and that it’s liable for copyright infringement after Eight Nine Mile brought the issue to Meta’s attention, Meta has removed several of the record company’s compositions from its Music Libraries in the preceding months.

Prominent works

However, many other of Eminem’s prominent works remain available on Meta’s services. 

The publishing company has requested a jury trial; meanwhile, Meta has declined requests for public comment on the matter. 

Eight Nine Mile currently owns the rights to Eminem’s catalogue of music published between 1995 and 2005. 

According to the lawsuit, the rapper’s songs “are some of the most valuable in the world, and Eight Mile Style is very protective of these iconic songs.”

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