Eminem filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms — owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — over allegations of copyright infringement.
The rapper’s publishing company Eight Mile Style has accused Meta of putting Eminem’s music on its Reels Remix and Original Audio platforms without permission. A lawsuit filed on Friday, May 30, in Michigan is seeking as much as $109 million in damages for misappropriation of 243 of Eminem’s songs, according to E! News.
Eminem’s lawsuit alleges that Mark Zuckerberg’s company initially tried to license his music through digital royalty engine Audiam, but when Eight Mile Style refused, more than 200 songs made it onto Reels Remix and Original Audio anyway. Eminem’s songs were allegedly streamed and sampled billions of times without permission, in what Eight Mile Style calls “rampant” and “knowing infringement.”
“As Meta knows, it does not enjoy and is not eligible for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (‘DMCA’) safe harbor provisions,” Eight Mile Style argues in its lawsuit.
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The 15-time Grammy winner, 52, is asking for $150,000 for each of the 243 songs allegedly used without permission on Meta’s three audio platforms — or a total $109,350,000 with damages included. Eminem’s lawyers claim that although Meta removed the songs once a complaint was made, the social media platform “continues to host unauthorized cover and instrumental versions.”
“[Meta] encourag[ed] billions of users of its online services to [infringe], all willfully, and without a license,” Eminem’s lawyers wrote in court documents.
Eight Mile Style is seeking a jury trial to recoup damages, lost profits and a court order permanently blocking Meta from using Eminem’s music on its audio platforms.
Us Weekly has reached out to Meta Platforms for more information.
Earlier this year, Joseph Strange, a former engineer at Eminem’s Ferndale, Michigan, recording studio, was charged with criminal infringement of a copyright and interstate transportation of stolen goods for allegedly leaking a selection of the hip-hop icon’s music recorded between 1999 and 2018. This case is unrelated to Eminem’s dispute with Meta Platforms.
The FBI confirmed in March that it worked in tandem with Eminem’s Mathers Music Studio once it was tipped off about tracks allegedly being stolen from the Detroit recording facility. During the course of the FBI’s investigation, a Canadian national confirmed they had crowdfunded $50,000 in Bitcoin to purchase the stolen music.
If convicted, Strange could face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his criminal copyright infringement charge as well as a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the stolen goods charge. Strange’s attorney told the Associated Press in March that he was facing “untested charges” that hadn’t yet been evaluated by a judge or jury. He entered a not guilty plea in March.
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“Protecting intellectual property from thieves is critical in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and protecting their original work from reproduction and distribution by individuals who seek to profit from the creative output of others,” Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck said at the time.
Eminem’s spokesperson condemned “damage” caused to the rapper’s legacy from the leaks and insisted he would “continue to take any and all steps necessary to protect [his] art and will stop at nothing to do so.”
His most recent album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), topped the Billboard 200 when it was released last July.
