Believe issued a statement in response to a major copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Universal Music Group, ABKCO and Concord Music Group against the company and its subsidiary TuneCore.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday (November 4), claims believe has established its business through “Copyright infringement on an industrial scale” “The most popular copyrighted sound recording in the world”.
In a statement released to MBW today (November 5), a Believe spokesperson said the company and its subsidiary TuneCore “strongly dispute these claims and Universal Music Group’s statements and will fight them.”
You can read the full complaint here, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which focuses in part on the spread of so-called “manipulated” information.
Believe’s full statement is below: “Believe and TuneCore do not comment on pending litigation. As a company that works with artists and labels around the world, we take respect for copyright very seriously.
“We strongly refute these claims and Universal Music Group’s statements and will fight them. We have developed robust tools and processes to address this industry-wide challenge, working with partners and peers, and will continue to do so.
“For nearly 20 years, we have been at the forefront of the digital music ecosystem, supporting the growth of independent artists and labels, and have been awarded Tier 1 status and included in all music stores’ preferred partner programs.”
Universal Music Group, ABKCO and harmony Claims Believe has achieved significant growth by serving as a hub for distributing unauthorized copies of copyrighted sound recordings to major platforms, including Tik Tok, Youtube, Spotify, apple music and Instagram.
UMG et al. Allegation: “Believe routinely distributes blatantly infringing versions of original tracks by well-known artists, accompanied by annotations that say they are “speeded up” or “remixed.”
UMG, ABKCO and Concord are seeking at least $500 million.
A spokesperson for UMG said of the lawsuit: “Believe is a company based on industrial-scale copyright infringement. Their illegal conduct is not limited to defrauding artists on major labels, but also includes artists on independent labels. Including artists from independent labels within the trade body to which Believe itself is a part.
“As a company that works with artists and labels around the world, we take respect for copyright very seriously.”
Trust the spokesperson
The lawsuit highlights multiple examples of alleged infringement (see Attachments A and B here).
Examples of these include tracks uploaded by “artists” using slightly misspelled versions of famous names, e.g. “Kendrick Lamar”, “Ariana Grande”, “Jutin Bieber” and “Lady Gaga.”
Many of the unauthorized tracks are described by artists as “speeded up” or “remixed” versions of the original recordings, including Aba, ariana grande, Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi, Daddy Yankee, Diana Ross, Drake, Elton John, Fall Out Boy, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Nirvana band, and this The Rolling Stones.
As MBW previously noted, the lawsuit comes against the backdrop of concerns over unauthorized “modifications” of tracks, particularly in Tik Tok.
Previously, UMG recently Byte bounceinvolving 37,000 Delete requests affect more than 120 million TikTok videos from earlier this year.
It also builds on a potential precedent sony musicThe case against an artist named Trefuego April is on his footsteps, No. 90, This is a sped up sample based on a 1986 track Reflection japanese composer Hinataa Sony representative.
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