Epidemic Sound, a Swedish music company that licences background music and sound effects for creator material, sued Meta last week. Epidemic Sound says that 1,000 of its works have been uploaded and utilised without a licence on Meta’s platforms. “Meta has created tools—Original Audio and Reels Remix—that encourage and allow its users to steal Epidemic’s music from another user’s posted video content and use it in their own subsequent videos, resulting in exponential infringements on Meta’s platform at Meta’s hands,” according to the complaint. Meta did not respond to the case.
Meta’s new tool for selling music-enhanced videos does not address music consumption in Reels, but it may entice artists away from copyright violations by offering them a piece of the pie. Unlicensed music videos may be muted or prohibited, and persistent offenders may have their accounts revoked.
