Cookie big Crumbl, reportedly eyeing $2bn sale, sued by Warner Music Group over ‘huge scale’ copyright infringement in TikTok posts

Warner Music Group has sued US cookie chain Crumbl, alleging that it constructed its enterprise via “blatant, willful, and repeated copyright infringement.”

The grievance was lodged in a US District Court docket in Utah on Tuesday (April 22), claiming Crumbl used no less than 159 of WMG’s recordings and compositions in promotional movies posted to TikTok and Instagram, the place the cookie firm has 9.8 million and 6.1 million followers, respectively.

“Defendants have misappropriated no less than 159 of the preferred and priceless sound recordings and musical compositions out there, utilizing these artistic works to construct Defendants’ model profile and drive huge gross sales to Defendants with out any compensation to Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit stated, which you’ll be able to learn in full right here.

WMG alleges that these works embrace recordings or compositions from artists and songwriters, together with Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, and Beyoncé, with out correct licensing or authorization.

Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley co-founded Crumbl in 2017 with a single retailer in Logan, Utah. The corporate has since grown to greater than 1,000 places globally, with greater than 29,000 staff, in response to its web site.

“Defendants have misappropriated no less than 159 of the preferred and priceless sound recordings and musical compositions out there.”

Warner Music Group

In January, Reuters reported, citing individuals accustomed to the matter, that Crumbl’s homeowners are exploring a sale that might worth the enterprise at $2 billion, together with debt.

“Our technique proper from the start was social media,” McGowan instructed The Wall Road Journal in December. The newspaper on the time famous that Crumbl has its personal social media workforce with over 30 employees together with professionals who {photograph} and movie movies.

Warner Music claims Crumbl’s movies are synchronized to an audio monitor of a well-liked sound recording. “The audio monitor usually runs the complete size of the Crumbl Movies and consists of essentially the most acquainted portion of the sound recording and underlying musical composition, such because the hook or refrain.”

In a single instance cited, a video selling blueberry cheesecake cookies featured the tune Blueberry Faygo by Lil Mosey, whereas one other selling yellow sugar cookies used Coldplay‘s hit Yellow. Warner Music additionally cited one other video selling Crumbl’s Kentucky butter cake, which used the tune Butter by BTS.

The lawsuit additionally particulars how Crumbl not solely created and posted infringing movies immediately but in addition partnered with social media influencers who obtained “perks and rewards,” and supplied the prospect of “paid initiatives” in alternate for creating content material selling Crumbl merchandise.

“By working with common influencers, Crumbl attracts every of those influencers’ followers to Crumbl’s social media pages and to the Crumbl Movies. Crumbl recruits these people—together with, upon data and perception, these featured within the Crumbl Movies — to ‘collaborate’ with Crumbl, whereby individuals are rewarded for selling Crumbl merchandise,” in response to the lawsuit.

Moreover, Warner Music claims that Crumbl continued to publish infringing content material months after the music firm despatched the cookie chain operator a cease-and-desist letter in August 2023.

WMG’s lawsuit stated: “Crumbl’s willfulness is additional evidenced by its very personal statements,” with the music big citing a January 2024 TikTok video wherein Crumbl stated: “We had been gonna make a humorous video to advertise Thriller Cookie, however authorized stated we are able to’t use any trending audios.”

The corporate is searching for as much as $150,000 in statutory damages for each infringed work, which may doubtlessly lead to damages of as much as $23.85 million if the courtroom grants the utmost penalty for every of the 159 works cited. WMG can also be searching for a everlasting injunction prohibiting Crumbl from additional infringement.

The lawsuit is the most recent involving a outstanding music firm taking authorized motion over unauthorized use of music in social media posts.

WMG’s grievance famous that the case bears similarities to lawsuits introduced towards power drink firm Bang Vitality in 2022, when each Common Music Group and Sony Music Leisure gained judgments for comparable copyright infringement claims involving unauthorized use of music in social media advertising. Warner additionally sued Bang Vitality in September 2022 after Sony Music scored partial victory in its personal case.

The unauthorized use of copyrighted music and sound recordings on social media advertising have prompted main music firms to lodge authorized actions in current months. UMG sued the proprietor of US Tex-Mex restaurant chain Chili’s in October for allegedly infringing its copyrights in quite a few social media posts.

Additionally in October, Sony Music settled a lawsuit towards Marriott Inns over the alleged “rampant” infringement of copyrighted supplies in social media posts.

In one other current case, Sony Music sued the College of Southern California, alleging the varsity repeatedly and willfully used unauthorized copyrighted music in its social media posts.

Different current circumstances embrace the lawsuit between the Related Manufacturing Music — collectively owned by Sony Music Publishing and Common Music Publishing Group — and the American Hockey League; the case between Sony Music and US cosmetics model OFRA; and the lawsuit filed by Kobalt Music Publishing, Artist Publishing Group and others towards 14 NBA groups.