USC settles music lawsuit
USC settled a suit over Beyonce and Bruno Mars tracks on Instagram and TikTok, underscoring that licensed music rules still shape campaign creative and paid placements. For music-driven content, license compliance is now an explicit checklist item. (billboard.com)
Court filings show Sony Music and the University of Southern California reached a settlement and asked a Manhattan federal court to dismiss the case on March 26, 2026. (digitalmusicnews.com) (digitalmusicnews.com) Sony’s original complaint, filed March 11, 2025 in the Southern District of New York, alleged roughly 283 social‑media posts used more than 170 Sony‑owned sound recordings across USC athletics accounts. (sportsvideo.org) (sportsvideo.org) The suit sought statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work, a figure Sony estimated could amount to about $42 million given the number of allegedly unlicensed uses. (dailytrojan.com) (dailytrojan.com) Sony’s filings say the label repeatedly notified USC about unauthorized uses beginning in 2021 and that the parties entered settlement discussions and a tolling agreement in August 2024 before litigation resumed. (afslaw.com) (afslaw.com; jdsupra.com) Public reporting indicates the settlement details were not disclosed and neither side provided comment to media requests after the case resolved. (digitalmusicnews.com) (digitalmusicnews.com) Court documents and coverage detail the contested uses occurred across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook on dozens of USC accounts, with USC Athletics reported to have amassed roughly 21 million video views across platforms in September 2024. (cullenllp.com) (cullenllp.com; afslaw.com)
