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X and major music publishers agree to dismiss copyright lawsuits
The 2023 case sought $250 million, and the later antitrust suit accused the music publishers of colluding through their trade group to demand licensing at inflated rates.
HousingWire reports that X, formerly known as Twitter, and a group of major music publishers have agreed to end their dueling lawsuits in court filings made public this week.
According to court papers, both sides agreed to stipulate to dismissal of all claims with prejudice, meaning the cases cannot be refiled.
The conflict began in 2023, when 17 music companies and their trade group, the National Music Publishers' Association, sued X for $250 million in Nashville over alleged copyright infringement and anticompetitive dealing, including claims that X failed to police infringement involving as many as 1,700 songs by artists such as Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, and Rihanna.
X later sued in Dallas in January 2026, alleging the music publishers colluded through their trade group in violation of federal antitrust law to force blanket licensing deals at inflated rates, and also accusing the publishers of weaponizing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown process by sending takedown notices virtually every week. In the filings, neither side provided a reason for the dismissal, and they did not mention a settlement.