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UMG Sues TuneCore Over Alleged ‘Massive’ Copyright Infringement of Rihanna, Ariana Grande & More Recordings

A UMG copyright lawsuit says TuneCore infringed music by Rihanna, Ariana Grande and more by distributing fraudulent recordings to streamers.

“Believe is fully aware that its business model is fueled by rampant piracy” in “pursuit of rapid growth,” the lawsuit claims, adding that the company has “turned a blind eye” to the infringing content that makes its way to social media and streaming services through its platform. Later that month, the name of the bidder was revealed when it was announced that Warner Music Group (WMG) had issued a formal notice to disclose its interest in acquiring Believe, which also owns publishing administrator Sentric as well as labels like Naïve, Nuclear Blast and Groove Attack. Just last month, TikTok also rang the alarm bell about fraudulent content when it backed out of licensing negotiations with Merlin, a coalition of indie labels and distributors, to allegedly curb users uploading works they don’t own the rights to on the platform.

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