X Corp files antitrust lawsuit against major music publishers, including Sony and Universal

New Delhi: Elon Musk’s X Corp has filed a lawsuit against the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and 18 major music publishers, including Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Corp, and Warner Chappell Music, alleging an anticompetitive conspiracy to deny the platform fair licensing terms for copyrighted music, as per the news report.

The complaint, filed on January 9, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, claims violations of federal antitrust laws under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, including unlawful restraint of trade, conspiracy to monopolise, and attempted monopolisation. 

According to the filing, the defendants, who collectively control over 90% of the U.S. market for music composition licences, colluded through the NMPA to refuse individual negotiations, instead pressuring X to accept “industrywide” blanket licences at “supracompetitive rates.”

X describes a series of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices as “weaponised” and pretextual. The 53-page complaint states that the NMPA coordinated the notices starting in December 2021, targeting over 200,000 posts in the first year, rising to nearly 500,000 after major publishers like Sony, Universal, and Warner joined in 2023. 

X reports that this led to the suspension of more than 50,000 user accounts, including high-profile accounts such as Logan Paul, the Kansas City Chiefs, Linkin Park, and ESPN FC, which the company claims harmed its user base and advertising revenue.

X alleges that the takedowns were part of a “coercive campaign” to force licensing deals rather than genuine copyright enforcement. The filing cites an October 2021 email from NMPA President and CEO David Israelite, which reportedly threatened a “massive DMCA takedown program” unless X partnered with the industry. Israelite is quoted as saying the issue could “all go away, for a price,” warning that the effort would exceed the scale of previous campaigns against platforms like Twitch and Roblox.

The lawsuit names additional defendants including BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing, Concord Music Group, Hipgnosis Songs Group, and Downtown Music Publishing. X is seeking a permanent injunction to halt the alleged practices, treble damages for lost revenue, punitive damages, and legal fees.

This action follows a previous dispute over music rights on the platform, formerly known as Twitter. In June 2023, 17 publishers, including Sony and Universal, sued X for over $250 million, alleging copyright infringement in more than 1,700 instances. Most claims were dismissed in 2024, and settlement talks paused in June 2025 reportedly made progress but did not resolve the matter.

Responding to the new lawsuit, Israelite dismissed the claims as “meritless” and a “bad faith effort to distract from publishers’ and songwriters’ legitimate right to enforce against X’s illegal use of their songs.” X has not publicly commented beyond the filing. Legal experts suggest the case may test the boundaries of antitrust law in creative industries and influence how social media platforms negotiate music licences in the future.