Spotify Sued For $1.6 Billion For Using Thousands Of Songs Without License

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Idris Elba and Chris Maples, Spotify, VP Europe speak on stage at the Spotify in Conversation with Idris Elba on the ITV Stage at Princess Anne during day three of Advertising Week Europe held at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly on April 2, 2014 in London, England.
Spotify got hit with a pretty hefty lawsuit before the end of the year.

Spotify had one of their biggest years to date with 2017. Midway through 2017, it was announced they had over 140 million active users and 60 million paying subscribers. Despite this, they still had their own legal battles to deal with throughout the year. Unfortunately, they had to leave 2017 with another lawsuit to drag into the new year.

In a report from Hollywood Reporter, they say Spotify is getting hit with a $1.6 billion lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing. On December 29th, Wixen filed a lawsuit against Spotify that claims they've been using tens of thousands of songs, including Tom Petty's "Free Fallin" and The Doors' "Light My Fire", without properly compensating or licensing the songs themselves. Wixen is seeking at least $1.6 Billion as well as injunctive relief from Spotify in the lawsuit. In addition, Spotify will also have to create some sort of method to identify and license songs properly. The complaint also claim that 21 percent of the 30 million songs on the streaming service aren't licensed either. 

"Spotify brazenly disregards United States Copyright law and has committed willful, ongoing copyright infringement," the complaint stated in court documents, "Wixen notified Spotify that it had neither obtained a direct or compulsory mechanical license for the use of the Works. For these reasons and the foregoing, Wixen is entitled to the maximum statutory relief."

Spotify's legal team has since responded to the case. They're arguing that Wixen's contract with their songwriters won't let them take legal actions on the songwriters behalf. 

Check out the full legal document below.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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