Photo Credit: Social Media HQ
By now, you would think that the world’s leading brands would know the following: if you use someone else’s music, art, content, or likeness, you need to pay that person. Yet, time and time again, they are ignoring this basic rule as they roll out new advertisements and new promotions on social media.
Somehow, brands must be thinking, if these ads and promotions appear on social media platforms, they must be exempt from basic copyright rules. But nothing could be further from the truth, and we’re starting to see the consequences play out in America’s court rooms.
The NBA vs. creators
Take, for example, the NBA. This popular basketball sports league is accused of improperly using the music of top artists such as Jay-Z, Cardi B, Migos, and OutKast, as they seek to promote top NBA teams. According to lawsuits that have now been filed against 14 different NBA teams, they are using songs of these artists in their social media videos without permission.
The New York Knicks, for example, have used the music of New York legend Jay-Z as they seek to engage their local fanbase and boost viewership. And the Atlanta Hawks have used the music of stars such as Migos and OutKast in the same way. Obviously, this is not fair to the recording artists (some of whom are now subsisting on royalty crumbs from their Spotify streams), and quite frankly, it’s illegal. It’s as if they stole music, knew it, and still refused to pay for it.
Granted, there is a bit of a gray area here. For example, every social media platform makes available “licensed music” that has already been pre-approved for use. So the NBA teams might have been under the impression that they somehow already paid for the music when they licensed it for regular TV or radio spots.
And some musical artists specifically name-check NBA teams or players in their lyrics, or appear at local events with local NBA stars to promote their own music. On the surface, it might appear to be fair game to use snippets of music from those events, in at least some capacity, since both parties are benefiting from the relationship. Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, for example, has appeared often at Sixers team events. And, you guessed it, Meek Mill is one of the artists mentioned in the NBA lawsuits.
Brands attempt to “sabotage” social media
The problem, quite frankly, is that brands have already gone too far in their abuse of copyrighted music. Take the popular fast-casual restaurant Chili’s, for example. They thought it would somehow be OK to use music from the Beastie Boys ( “Sabotage”) for a social media restaurant ad. They even went so far as to hire actors to dress up like the Beastie Boys for the video, so it appeared to casual viewers as if the original Beastie Boys were starring in the video.
Not good. That’s not fair to the Beastie Boys, it’s unethical, and it’s deceptive to viewers, to say the least. And there are plenty more examples of brands running rampant, refusing to pay for content that they should.
The remix culture of social media
Unfortunately, the root problem seems to be what some have called “remix culture.” This concept dates back more than a decade, when online creators first started cutting and pasting content that was then shared across social media. But “remix culture” has now reached an apex moment, as brands get into the business of copying, sampling, remixing, and reusing the content of everyone else.
Once something has gone viral online, you can be sure that there are plenty of brands or businesses trying to leverage it, all in the name of more views and more engagement. And in the era of AI, the problem is just going to get worse, because it’s so easy to do.
So the next time you’re tempted to reuse or remix someone else’s content, take a moment to reflect. How would you like it if someone took excerpts from your latest book, a catchy hook from your latest song, or an image from your latest artwork, and didn’t compensate you for it? You might think that someone was stealing from you.
So big national brands, wake up! If you’re using content without permission, you’re only contributing to the pervasive problem of copyright infringement.
