UMG Sues $10B Fashion Brand Quince for Running Influencer Posts With Unlicensed Music
Universal Music Group and Concord filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Quince on April 16 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint lists 67 sound recordings and 71 musical compositions in what it describes as an 'illustrative, non-exhaustive' exhibit, covering recordings by Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Drake, Fleetwood Mac, and Britney Spears. Quince, which raised a $500M Series E in March at a $10.1B valuation, works with roughly 300 creators a month and built its brand primarily through TikTok and Instagram. In one instance cited in the complaint, Quince reposted an influencer's paid partnership video on its own account but replaced the original audio with one of the plaintiffs' copyrighted tracks. UMG and Concord describe the conduct as 'rampant and brazen infringement,' noting that Quince was notified of the violations over a year ago and continued anyway.
THE BREAKDOWN
Every brand that reposts influencer content, even with audio edits, now carries direct infringement exposure if the music is unlicensed. Brand managers need to audit their influencer contracts immediately to ensure music licensing responsibility is explicitly assigned and creators are prohibited from using unlicensed tracks in sponsored posts. For talent reps, this is pricing leverage: creators who have clean licensing practices or work with music supervisors are worth a premium to risk-conscious brands. Expect music-safe content clauses to appear in brand deal templates after this filing.
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