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Elon Musk’s X and Music Publishers End Legal War, Filing Joint Stipulations of Dismissal
The dismissals end a $250 million copyright fight and X’s antitrust countersuit, with each side paying its own fees and no settlement disclosed.
- On Thursday, July 16, Elon Musk's X Corp and music publishers filed joint stipulations to dismiss their mutual legal battles in federal courts in Tennessee and Texas. Both cases were dismissed with prejudice, preventing them from being refiled.
- The conflict began in 2023 when the National Music Publishers Association sued X for $250 million, alleging the platform failed to police copyright infringement of nearly 1,700 musical works by artists including Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé.
- Escalating the dispute in January 2026, X filed an antitrust countersuit in Texas, accusing publishers of colluding through the NMPA to force 'supracompetitive rates.' The company sent close to 500,000 copyright takedown notices.
- A Supreme Court ruling in the Cox v. Sony Music case weakened the publishers' remaining copyright claims in March. Although neither side disclosed settlement terms or confirmed a new licensing agreement, the dismissal ends the years-long legal battle.
- While rivals like TikTok, YouTube, and Meta license music from publishers, X remains an outlier without such agreements. Representatives for both X and the NMPA declined to comment on whether a licensing deal was reached.
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X and music publishers retreat from lawsuits between them | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Social media platform X and a group of major music publishers have agreed to end a pair of lawsuits between them that had involved accusations of copyright infringement and anticompetitive dealing, according to court filings.
·Honolulu, United States
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Pakistan Live News
Pakistan Live NewsMusk’s X and Major Labels end multi-million-dollar music copyright dispute
The high-stakes legal warfare between Elon Musk’s X Corp. and the music industry has come to an abrupt and permanent end.According to federal court filings, a group of major music publishers...
·Karachi, Pakistan
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Musk's X, Major Labels End Social Media Music Dispute
According to federal court filings, a group of major music publishers including Universal Music Group and Sony Music have agreed to end a legal dispute with Elon Musk's X Corp over the use of their music on the X social media platform.
·Boca Raton, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left1Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Center
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
57% Center
14%
C 57%
R 29%
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