Spotify has triumphed in a long-running legal battle with Eminem's publisher, Eight Mile Style, which had accused the streaming giant of failing to properly license the rapper's songs, including mega-hits like “Lose Yourself.” The lawsuit, which claimed billions of illegal streams, has now ended badly for the publisher, with a federal judge dismissing the case and sharply criticizing Eight Mile Style for essentially manufacturing the lawsuit.
In 2019, Eight Mile Style filed a lawsuit accusing Spotify of streaming hundreds of Eminem's tracks without the necessary licenses. However, last month, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger ruled that the publisher had deliberately allowed the issue to fester in order to build a more profitable legal case. Rather than addressing the problem, Eight Mile Style reportedly sat back, knowing Spotify was streaming the tracks.
“Eight Mile Style was not a hapless victim,” Judge Trauger stated. “It seems they believed that being the victim of infringement would pay better than being an ordinary licensor.” She further noted that, while Spotify’s handling of copyright was flawed, only those who had been genuinely harmed should be entitled to damages — not a party that knowingly allowed violations for its own potential gain.
At the core of the lawsuit was Spotify’s failure to pay proper streaming royalties for much of the 2010s, an issue largely resolved by the Music Modernization Act (MMA) of 2018. The Act established a single, blanket license system for streamers, wiping the slate clean of prior misdeeds. Despite the law’s enactment, Eight Mile Style sued, arguing that the MMA was unconstitutional.
Judge Trauger did not rule on the constitutional challenge but suggested the publisher’s aim was to force a bigger payout from Spotify by threatening the legal framework of the MMA. She wrote, “A lawsuit that imperiled the MMA could cost Spotify a great deal more than any one artist could ever claim.”
Ultimately, Judge Trauger ruled that Eight Mile Style acted unfairly in order to win an advantage in court, a legal principle known as equitable estoppel. She also ruled that, even if Eight Mile’s claims had been valid, any damages would not have been Spotify’s responsibility. Instead, the liability would have fallen on Kobalt, a company that had agreed to indemnify Spotify after signing a licensing deal for Eminem’s songs.
Though the case against Spotify has been dismissed, Kobalt may still have to pay for the streamer’s legal expenses after five years of litigation. The size of the potential bill is yet to be determined.
This legal defeat for Eminem’s publisher underscores the risks of exploiting the copyright system in the streaming age, where being strategic can sometimes backfire in a big way.
