The music publishers and Elon Musk’s X Corp have ended the legal war they have waged over music licensing since 2023.
The two sides filed joint stipulations of dismissal in two US federal courts on Thursday (July 16).
The publishers’ copyright infringement suit against X was dismissed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
X’s antitrust suit against the publishers and the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) was dismissed the same day in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
You can read the filings here and here.
Both cases were dismissed with prejudice under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), with each side bearing its own costs, expenses and attorneys’ fees.
A dismissal with prejudice is final, which means the publishers cannot refile their copyright claims and X cannot refile its antitrust claims.
The two stipulations do not disclose the terms of any settlement, or whether X has agreed to license music from the publishers.
The copyright lawsuit was filed in June 2023 by 17 music publishers, coordinated by the NMPA, when the platform was still called Twitter.
The publishers, among them Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Warner Chappell Music, sought more than $250 million in damages over the alleged infringement of roughly 1,700 works.
“Twitter fuels its business with countless infringing copies of musical compositions, violating Publishers’ and others’ exclusive rights under copyright law,” the publishers’ 2023 complaint stated.
David Israelite, President and CEO of the NMPA, said at the time that “Twitter stands alone as the largest social media platform that has completely refused to license the millions of songs on its service.”
In March 2024, Judge Aleta A. Trauger dismissed the bulk of the claims, throwing out the allegations of direct and vicarious infringement.
The judge allowed the publishers to press part of their contributory infringement claim, including an allegation that X gave more lenient treatment to paying “verified” users who posted infringing content.
The two sides held settlement talks during a stay of the case in 2025, but did not reach a deal.
The dispute escalated in January, when X filed its antitrust lawsuit against the NMPA and 18 music publishers in Texas.
X accused the publishers of colluding, through the NMPA, to force it into industrywide licenses at “supracompetitive rates,” partly by sending it close to 500,000 copyright takedown notices.
X had sought the right to negotiate licenses with individual publishers, along with damages.
Israelite called that lawsuit “meritless” and “a bad faith effort to distract from publishers’ and songwriters’ legitimate right to enforce against X’s illegal use of their songs.”
The publishers’ one remaining claim was then undercut by the US Supreme Court in March.
The court sided unanimously with Cox Communications in a separate music piracy case, finding that an internet service provider is not liable for its users’ infringement unless it induced that infringement or offered a service designed for piracy.
That standard bore on the contributory infringement theory that was, after Judge Trauger’s 2024 ruling, the only part of the publishers’ case still alive against X.
X argued that the Cox decision required the copyright case to be dismissed.
Rivals including Meta, YouTube and TikTok license music from publishers for use on their platforms, while X has not.
Neither of the July 16 filings states how X and the publishers resolved their differences, or whether a licensing agreement is now in place.
MBW has reached out to the NMPA for comment.Music Business Worldwide
The legal conflict between music publishers and Elon Musk’s X Corp (formerly Twitter) over music licensing has come to an end as both parties filed joint stipulations of dismissal in two U.S. federal courts on July 16, 2024. The music publishers’ copyright infringement lawsuit against X was dismissed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, while X’s antitrust suit against the publishers and the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) was dismissed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Both dismissals were made with prejudice under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), meaning neither party can refile their respective claims in the future. The filings did not disclose any settlement terms or confirm whether X has agreed to license music from the publishers. The copyright infringement suit was initiated in June 2023 by 17 music publishers, including prominent names such as Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Warner Chappell Music. They sought over $250 million in damages, claiming that X had infringed upon approximately 1,700 musical works.
In their 2023 complaint, the publishers argued that “Twitter fuels its business with countless infringing copies of musical compositions, violating Publishers’ and others’ exclusive rights under copyright law.” NMPA President and CEO David Israelite stated that Twitter had been the largest social media platform that refused to license the millions of songs available on its service.
In March 2024, Judge Aleta A. Trauger dismissed the majority of the claims, including direct and vicarious infringement allegations, but allowed part of the contributory infringement claim to proceed. This included a specific allegation that X offered more lenient treatment to paying “verified” users who posted infringing content.
Settlement talks took place during a stay of the case in 2025 but did not yield any agreements. The dispute intensified in January 2024, when X filed its antitrust lawsuit against the NMPA and 18 music publishers in Texas, accusing them of collusion to compel X into industrywide licenses at “supracompetitive rates.” The company claimed that nearly 500,000 copyright takedown notices were sent as part of this effort. X sought the right to negotiate licenses with individual publishers and sought damages. Israelite dismissed X’s antitrust lawsuit as “meritless” and characterized it as a distraction from the legitimate rights of publishers and songwriters to enforce copyright protections against X’s unauthorized use of their music.
The remaining claim of the publishers was weakened by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in March 2024, which sided unanimously with Cox Communications in a separate music piracy case. The court established that an internet service provider cannot be held liable for user infringement unless it actively induces such infringement or offers a service specifically designed for piracy. This ruling impacted the contributory infringement theory that was the last standing aspect of the publishers’ case against X.
While competitors like Meta, YouTube, and TikTok have secured music licenses from publishers for their platforms, X has not done so. The filings from July 16 did not clarify how the differences between X and the publishers were resolved or whether a licensing agreement is now in effect. Music Business Worldwide has reached out to the NMPA for further comments on the matter.
In summary, the legal battles surrounding music licensing between Elon Musk’s X Corp and music publishers have culminated in dismissed lawsuits without revealing any settlements or agreements on music licensing. The resolution of these disputes reflects ongoing challenges in the evolving relationship between social media platforms and the music industry, particularly regarding copyright and licensing practices.
