Song lyrics company LyricFind alleges that a major investor in its primary rival, Musixmatch, attempted to \u201cbuy or bury\u201d the company in order to stave off competition, in documents related to LyricFind\u2019s antitrust lawsuit against Musixmatch.<\/p>\n
The allegation was made in LyricFind<\/strong>\u2019s legal complaint against Musixmatch<\/strong> filed in March of this year, but was redacted from publicly available versions of the document. LyricFind has now released the unredacted version.<\/p>\n Because of a “competitive threat” from LyricFind, Musixmatch and its investor TPG “embarked on a multi-faceted \u2018buy or bury\u2019 scheme to exclude LyricFind and other providers from the market so it could continue charging unlawfully inflated prices without the risk of losing business.\u201d LyricFind said in the complaint.<\/p>\n The complaint alleges that, in 2023, TPG attempted to acquire LyricFind \u201cso that Musixmatch would no longer have to compete with it.\u201d During that process, TPG and Musixmatch gained access to confidential LyricFind information, which was covered by a non-disclosure agreement. LyricFind alleges that TPG and Musixmatch violated that NDA by leaking information to Spotify<\/strong> \u201cin the hopes that doing so would help them avoid competing on price or quality.\u201d<\/p>\n When discussions between LyricFind and Spotify continued despite the leak, LyricFind alleges, Musixmatch switched tactics and signed an agreement with publisher Warner Chappell Music<\/strong> (WCM<\/strong>) that made Musixmatch the exclusive provider of lyrics rights licensing and lyric data services for songs published by WCM.<\/p>\n That agreement is at the core of the antitrust lawsuit that LyricFind filed against Musixmatch and TPG<\/a> in a US District Court in San Francisco in March.<\/p>\n LyricFind argued that the agreement was meant to push it out of the lyrics marketplace by removing its ability to provide a comprehensive catalog of lyrics, and that it also ties the hands of music streaming services like Spotify, as they now have to license WCM lyrics through Musixmatch “at monopolistic prices.”<\/p>\n Notably, LyricFind has cut at least one exclusive licensing deal of its own<\/a>, with Universal Music Publishing Group<\/strong> in 2014, which gave LyricFind exclusive rights to sublicense UMPG lyrics, though UMPG retains the right to license its lyrics directly.<\/p>\n LyricFind has argued it’s fighting on behalf music streaming platforms. In an open letter earlier this year, Founder and CEO Darryl Ballantyne<\/strong> said Spotify had “completed onboarding with LyricFind but were robbed [of[ the opportunity to select the lyric provider of its choice\u201d as a result of the Musixmatch-WCM deal.<\/p>\n Musixmatch has called the lawsuit \u201cmeritless,\u201d and both it and TPG filed motions to dismiss the case. In its motion, filed in June<\/a>, Musixmatch said Warner Chappell, as the owner of publishing copyrights, has the right to sign exclusivity agreements.<\/p>\n \u201cLyricFind has not sued WCM or challenged the lawfulness of WCM\u2019s decision to end their relationship, and for good reason: under the U.S. Copyright Act, WCM indisputably has the right to exclusively license and distribute its intellectual property as it sees fit, and has exercised that right by contracting with Musixmatch,\u201d stated the motion, which can be read in full here<\/a>.<\/p>\n “LyricFind\u2019s misguided attempt to recover in court what it couldn\u2019t win in the market place would infringe upon and limit the choices that music rights holders make.\u201d<\/p>\n Musixmatch<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Musixmatch also argued that the California court doesn\u2019t have jurisdiction in the matter, as LyricFind is a Canadian company, Musixmatch is Italian, and the agreement between WCM and Musixmatch is governed by the laws of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n \u201cLyricFind\u2019s claims are a textbook example of a disappointed competitor seeking to use the courts to achieve what it could not in the marketplace. But LyricFind, a foreign plaintiff, has neither the right to hale Musixmatch, a foreign defendant, before California courts, nor has it pled any plausible claims that would entitle it to any relief,\u201d Musixmatch stated in its motion to dismiss.<\/p>\n