Eminem’s publishing company, Eight Mile Style, has taken Meta—the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—to court, accus!ng the tech giant of using the rapper’s music without proper licens!ng.
The lawsuît, filed in a Michigan court, alleges that Meta stored, reproduced, and distributed Eminem’s songs across its platforms without obtaining the necessary rights. Eight Mile Style is demanding at least $109 million in damages and is seeking a court order to stop what it claims are ongoing copyr¡ght v!0lations.
According to the compla!nt, Meta’s music library contains 243 tracks owned or controll£d by Eight Mile Style. These songs were rep0rtedly used in millions of videos that have accumulated billions of views on Meta’s platforms. The suit cla!ms the music was copied and synced to visual content without authorization, despite previous unsuccessful licensing negotiations through Audiam, a digital music rights company.
The complaint states, “Despite not being licensed, the recordings of the Eight Mile compositions have been reproduced and synchroniz£d with visual content on Meta’s platforms.” It also accúses Meta executives of “actively encourag[ing] rampànt infringement” to boost user engagement and advertising revenue—advertising that made up 97.8% of Meta’s total revenue in 2023.
The lawsuit also points out that Meta continued to host karaoke, instrumental, and even some original versions of Eminem’s songs after being notified of the licensing issues.
🔴The complaint reads, “Meta’s years-long and ongoing infringement of the Eight Mile compositions is another cas£ of a trillion-dollar company exploiting the creative efforts of musical artists for the benefit of its executives and shareholders.”
In response, Meta told the Los Angeles Times that it has “extensiv£” licensing agreements with thousands of partners worldwide and asserted it has been negotiating in good faith with Eight Mile Style. “Rather than continue those discussions, Eight Mile Style chose to su£,” Meta said.
This isn’t the first legal dispπte between Eight Mile Style and Meta. In 2013, the company sued Facebook for âllegedly using Eminem’s track “Under the Influence” in an advertisement without permission.
Eight Mile Style is now seeking $150,000 per song, per platform, and has request£d a jury triàl.
