Warner Music Group Sues Crumbl
The Warner musical group has filed a lawsuit against Cookie Chain Crumbl, alleging that the company has established its business through “egregious, intentional, and repeated copyright violations.”
Details of the Lawsuit
The complaint was submitted to the U.S. District Court in Utah on Tuesday (April 22), asserting that Crumbl has utilized at least 159 WMG records and compositions in promotional videos on TikTok and Instagram, where they boast 9.8 million and 6.1 million followers, respectively.
“The defendants unlawfully appropriated at least 159 of the most popular and valuable sound recordings and musical compositions in the market, using these creative works to build the brand profile of the defendants and drive sales without any compensation to the plaintiffs,” the lawsuit states, which can be read in full here.
WMG alleges that these works include compositions from artists and songwriters such as Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, and Beyoncé without proper licensing or resolution.
Jason McGowan and Soyer Hemley co-founded CRUMBL in 2017 with a single store in Logan, Utah. Since then, the company has expanded to over 1000 locations worldwide, employing more than 29,000 staff, according to its website.
“The defendants illegally assigned at least 159 of the most popular and valuable sound recordings and musical compositions in the market.”
Warner Music Group
In January, Reuters reported that Crumbl owners are contemplating a sale that could value the business at $2 billion, including debt.
“Our strategy from the very beginning was social networks,” McGowan told the Wall Street Journal in December. At that time, the newspaper noted that Crumbl has its own social media team of 30 employees, including professionals who create video content.
Warner Music claims that Crumbl’s videos are synchronized with audio tracks of popular sound recordings. “The audio track typically runs throughout Crumbl’s videos and features the most recognizable parts of the sound recording and the core musical composition, such as a hook or chorus.”
One example highlights a video promoting cookies with a blueberry cheesecake, featuring the song Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey, while another video for yellow sugar cookies used Coldplay‘s hit Yellow. Warner Music also cited another video promoting Crumbl’s Butter Cake that incorporated Butter by BTS.
Furthermore, the lawsuit details how Crumbl not only created and posted the infringing videos directly but also collaborated with social media influencers who received “benefits and remuneration,” suggesting an intention for “paid initiatives” in exchange for creating content promoting Crumbl’s products.
“By working with popular influencers, Crumbl attracts followers from these influencers to its social media pages and videos. Crumbl hires these individuals, including regarding the information and beliefs presented in Crumbl’s videos, to “partner” with Crumbl, with participants rewarded for promoting Crumbl’s products, as stated in the record.
Additionally, Warner Music asserts that Crumbl continued to post infringing content several months after the music company contacted the cookie chain in August 2023.
The WMG lawsuit notes, “Crumbl has further validated its actions” as the music giant referred to a January 2024 TikTok video in which Crumbl stated: “We were going to create a humorous video to promote mystery cookies, but Legal advised us against using any popular trends.”
The company is seeking $150,000 for damages per infringed work, which could potentially amount to $23.85 million if the court levies the maximum fine for each of the 159 cited works. WMG is also pursuing a permanent injunction to prevent Crumbl from further violations.
This lawsuit is the latest instance in which the prominent music company is engaged in legal actions concerning unauthorized music use in social media promotions.
The WMG complaint points out that this case is akin to the lawsuit filed against the energy drink company Bang Energy in 2022, where both Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment obtained judgments regarding similar copyright infringement claims related to unauthorized music use in social media marketing. Warner also sued Bang Energy in September 2022 after Sony Music secured a partial victory in its own case.
The unauthorized use of copyright-protected music and sound recordings in marketing across social media has led major music companies to initiate legal actions in recent months. UMG sued the owner of the US-MEX restaurant chain Chile in October, alleging numerous copyright violations in social media posts.
In October, Sony Music reached a settlement with Marriott Hotels regarding the alleged “widespread” infringement of copyright-protected materials in social media posts.
In another recent case, Sony Music took legal action against the University of Southern California, claiming that the institution repeatedly and willfully used unauthorized music protected by copyright in its social media messages.
Other recent legal disputes include a case between Anger-Made Production Music (owned by Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group) and the American Hockey League; a case involving Sony Music and the American cosmetics brand Ofra; and a lawsuit filed by Kobalt Music Publishing, Artist Publishing Group, and others against 14 NBA teams.
