X Corp and Major Music Publishers Drop Copyright and Antitrust Lawsuits

Elon Musk’s X Corp and a group of major music publishers, including Universal Music Group and Sony Music, have agreed to end their legal dispute over music copyrights on the social media platform. According to federal court filings on Thursday, both parties have moved to dismiss their respective lawsuits against one another.

End of a Legal Battle

Both X Corp and the music labels filed requests in federal courts in Tennessee and Texas to dismiss the legal actions. The filings requested the claims be dismissed with prejudice, a legal term indicating that the cases cannot be refiled in the future.

The terms of any potential settlement agreement were not disclosed in the court documents. According to a Reuters report, spokespeople for X, the publishers, and their trade group, the National Music Publishers Association, did not immediately comment on the matter.

Background of the Dispute

The conflict began in 2023 when a group of 17 music publishers sued X in Nashville, Tennessee. The lawsuit sought more than $250 million in damages, alleging the infringement of nearly 1,700 copyrights. The publishers argued that X allowed users to post music without proper licensing, unlike competitors such as TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

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In 2024, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger dismissed some of the publishers' claims, including direct and vicarious copyright infringement, but allowed a claim for contributory infringement to proceed. This set the stage for a continued legal fight before the recent move to dismiss.

X's Antitrust Countersuit

In response to the initial lawsuit, X filed a countersuit against the publishers in Texas in January 2024. X accused the music labels of violating federal antitrust law by allegedly conspiring to block competition and refusing to negotiate individual licensing deals, thereby attempting to force the platform into licensing songs at inflated rates.

The mutual dismissal of these claims resolves a significant legal overhang for X Corp and marks a truce in a contentious relationship between the social media giant and the music industry. The resolution avoids a potentially costly and lengthy court battle for both sides.