Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is facing a $109 million lawsuit from Eight Mile Style, the music publishing company that controls Eminem’s early catalogue. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, accuses Mark Zuckerberg’s tech empire of copyright infringement involving 243 of the rapper’s songs.
Eight Mile Style, which was co-founded by Eminem’s longtime collaborators, the Bass Brothers, alleges that Meta illegally stored, reproduced, and distributed the copyrighted songs across its social media platforms. The music company is seeking statutory damages of $150,000 per song, totaling over $109 million, and has requested a jury trial.
While Eminem himself is not directly involved in the lawsuit, the songs in question span the most commercially successful period of his career, from 1995 to 2005. Eight Mile Style argues these tracks are “some of the most valuable in the world,” and claims Meta’s unauthorized use has resulted in significant financial harm.
According to the lawsuit, Meta’s enabled features, such as Instagram Reels Remix and Facebook’s Original Audio tool, have “allowed and encouraged” users to illegally use these songs in videos that have been viewed billions of times. The publisher alleges that Meta facilitated music theft on a large scale without proper licensing or compensation.
Meta pushed back in a public statement, claiming it has been negotiating “in good faith” with Eight Mile Style. “Meta has licenses with thousands of partners around the world and an extensive global licensing program for music on its platforms,” a spokesperson said. “But rather than continue those discussions, Eight Mile Style chose to sue.”
The legal complaint also claims Meta attempted to secure access to digital licensing through Audiam, Inc., a royalty collection platform. Eight Mile Style maintains that it never authorized Meta to access its rights through Audiam and accuses Meta of continuing to store unauthorized copies of Eminem’s songs even after earlier complaints led to the removal of some tracks.
The publisher argues that the infringement has not only deprived it of licensing revenue but has also devalued its catalog and enriched Meta at the expense of artists and rights holders.
This high-stakes lawsuit highlights a longstanding tension between social media platforms and content creators over music licensing. With billions of users generating and sharing video content daily, the legal frameworks surrounding copyrighted music use on platforms like Instagram and Facebook remain hotly contested.
As Eight Mile Style takes on one of the most powerful tech companies in the world, the outcome of this case could set a precedent for how platforms handle copyrighted music in the future, especially in the fast-growing short-form video space.
This is more than just a legal dispute — it’s a battle over who controls the future of music in the digital age.
