UMG Files $500 Million Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against TuneCore

Universal Music Group, ABKCO and Concord Music Group are seeking "at least" $500 million in damages after filing a copyright infringement lawsuit against TuneCore and the music distributor's parent company, Believe, Billboard reports.

TuneCore allows independent artists to easily distribute their music across major streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon. The company, which in 2015 was acquired by Believe for an undisclosed sum, says it's paid out over $4 billion in revenue to artists since its 2006 launch.

UMG, ABKCO and Concord have collectively accused TuneCore of enabling "massive" fraud and piracy in the bombshell lawsuit, filed November 4th in Manhattan federal court. The coalition's complaint alleges that Believe's platform is "overrun with fraudulent 'artists' and pirate record labels" that are distributing illegal derivatives of hit songs to streaming services and social media.

Those so-called artists, lawyers for the plaintiffs claim, uploaded "minor variants" of hit tracks by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and many more. They reportedly attempted to avoid detection by attributing the music to intentionally misspelled names like "Kendrik Laamar,' "Arriana Gramde," "Jutin Biber" and "Llady Gaga."

Believe, which operates in over 50 countries, has positioned itself as an independent, artist-friendly alternative to major label distribution. The explosive lawsuit, a major escalation in the ongoing battle against music piracy, accuses the company of failing to adequately police its platform.

"Believe is a company built on industrial-scale copyright infringement," a UMG spokesperson said in a statement. "Their illegal practices are not limited to cheating artists on major labels but artists on independent labels as well—including artists on the independent labels within the trade bodies of which Believe is itself a member."

"It’s no wonder that Believe has been outspoken against the streaming reform principles for which so many major and independent labels have been advocating. Why? Because such reforms would undermine and expose their system of building scale and market presence by distributing music for which they have no rights and illegally collecting royalties to enrich themselves and their co-conspirators."

A spokesperson for Believe vehemently denied UMG's claims and said the company is preparing to fight them in court.

"As companies that work with artists and labels around the world, we take the respect of copyright very seriously," the Believe rep told Billboard. "We strongly refute these claims, and the statements made by Universal Music Group and will fight them. We have developed robust tools and processes to tackle this industrywide challenge, working collaboratively with partners and peers and will continue to do so. We have been at the forefront of the digital music ecosystem for nearly 20 years, supporting the development of independent artists and labels, and have been awarded Tier 1 status and included in the Preferred Partner Program across all music stores."

You can read the full complaint, obtained by MBW, here.