Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Major Music Publisher Sues USC Over Copyright Infringement

17/03/2025

Major Music Publisher Sues USC Over Copyright Infringement Sports and growth of NIL drive use of music on college athletes' social media By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Monday, March 17, 2025 - 10:45 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The music industry's increasing willingness to resort to litigation to combat copyright infringement is on a collision course with college sports' growing affluence. Sony Music Entertainment (SME) has filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against the University of Southern California (USC), alleging that the school repeatedly and willfully used unauthorized copyrighted music in its social-media posts.

Specifically, in a complaint filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, SME's lawyers presented evidence of 283 posts by USC Athletics social-media accounts using 170 SME-owned songs, which the complaint says were unauthorized uses. Among the songs cited are Gimme More by Britney Spears, Run the World (Girls) by Beyonc , and Beat It by Michael Jackson.

The complaint alleges, USC also exploits Sony Music's hit recordings when they have just been released and are at the top of the charts.

The NCAA recorded nearly $1.4 billion in revenue for its 2024 fiscal year - the association's best in at least two decades, it asserts, and a nearly $91 million increase over the revenue total it reported for 2023. And the bulk of the NCAA's revenue comes from media rights and marketing deals tied to championship events.

It's Not an Isolated Incident The copyright-infringement problem is ongoing. Last year, 14 NBA teams - including the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks - were sued for copyright infringement by music publishers, including Kobalt Music Publishing and Artist Publishing Group. The lawsuits alleged that the teams used copyrighted music in social-media videos and on their official NBA websites without the copyright owner's permission. The music was used to promote team activities and products and to increase viewership and engage fans. Similar suits go back more than a decade.

The issue is exacerbated by the recent and rapid growth of name/image/likeness (NIL) rules, which allow college athletes to make and earn from endorsement deals, and they often use music on social media to promote those arrangements.

The SME complaint points to a social-media guideline document issued by USC, which notes, among other things, that all music is copyrighted[,] which means, prior to featuring it in your video, you must license it through the proper vendors and channels.

SME's complaint seeks to portray USC as a commercial enterprise, noting that the school recorded more than $7 billion in operating revenues for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and reported $212 million in athletic revenue for the 2022-23 school year.

USC's sports programs bear the hallmarks of a commercial enterprise, the complaint states. USC's football coach Lincoln Riley was paid more than $19 million in the 2023 fiscal year, one of the highest-paid college football coaches in the nation. USC's football program led the nation in digital engagement and amassed nearly 21 million video views across social-media platforms in September 2024 alone.

The statutory damage for infringement is $150,000 per instance, not per song. Thus, the maximum statutory award for 283 infringements would be $42.45 million.

Sports leagues continue to be sued by music publishers. For instance, APM Music, which is jointly owned by Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group, last year filed suit against the AHL for alleged rampant copyright infringement of music on its teams' social-media posts.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/03/17/major-music-publisher-sues-usc-...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

03/03/2026

Iyuno Taps Dante AV to Sync Audio and Video Content

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/03/2026

HBO Max and Paramount+ Streamers to Merge

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/03/2026

Survey: 70% of CTV Advertisers Plan to Boost Spending in 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/03/2026

XGN Global, X1 Mobile Show New 5G Broadcast Smartphone

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/03/2026

Scripps Completes Sale of WFTX to Sun Broadcasting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/03/2026

HbbTV Association Formally Integrates DRM into Core Specification

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/03/2026

NBC Sports Selected Imaginary Forces to Create Cinematic Main Title Sequence for Primetime In Milan

NBC Sports selected Imaginary Forces to create the main title sequence for the M...

02/03/2026

NFL Launches Draft-Inspired Innovation Challenge to Advance Future of Fan and Event Technology

The NFL announces the launch of the NFL Draft Innovation Challenge, a new crowds...

02/03/2026

DataMiner SatOps Named Finalist for 2026 Teleport Technology of the Year

The World Teleport Association (WTA) has named Skyline Communications' DataMiner SatOps solution as a finalist for the 2026 Teleport Technology of the Year ...

02/03/2026

Ventum Tech Partners with Pixotope to Expand Virtual Production Capabilities Across the GCC

Ventum Tech announces a strategic partnership with Pixotope, a real-time graphic...

02/03/2026

Victory+ Launches NWSL Content Hub, Taps Top Creators to Redefine How Fans Connect with League

Victory , a free, ad-supported sports streaming service, announces the launch of...

02/03/2026

L3Harris Appoints Ken Sharp Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Ken Bedingfield President of Missile Solutions

MELBOURNE, Fla., March 2, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announc...

02/03/2026

Nielsen reveals New Zealand's top ad spenders and categories for 2025

Harvey Norman tops New Zealand's biggest ad spenders as retail leads and telcos and beverages sure Auckland March 3, 2026 - Nielsen's New Zealand'...

02/03/2026

Advanced Systems Group Promotes Jody Boatwright to Chief...

Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, has appointed Jody Boatwright as Chief Strategy Of...

02/03/2026

Lightware TPN ecosystem powers smarter networks and strea...

Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is reinforcing its commitment to simplifying complex AV environments with the continued evolution of its TPN...

02/03/2026

ZEISS Cinema Hosts First US Aatma Lens Demo Event in LA

ZEISS Cinema opens its doors to an exclusive screening, filmmakers Q&A and hands-on showcase of the new ZEISS Aatma lens family on Tuesday, March 10, 6:00-9:00 ...

02/03/2026

DoPchoice Introduces SNAPBAG Round for the New Astera Qui...

To expand the creative potential of the compact Astera QuikBeam, DoPchoice introduces the SNAPBAG Round. The new light-shaping accessory transforms the powerfu...

02/03/2026

Douglas Dubler Master of Light - Five Decades Shooting w...

Douglas Dubler On a rooftop in New York City, veteran photographer Douglas Dubler watched the sun's angle shift across the urban landscape, his internal cl...

02/03/2026

ZEISS Expands Otus ML Lineup with the New 1435

ZEISS is expanding its Otus ML lens family with the introduction of the new ZEISS Otus ML 1.4/35. This manual-focus lens is designed for photographers who live ...

02/03/2026

Matthews Intros White FlexiMount and Phone Mount Kit by D...

Matthews Studio Equipment now offers the new Dinkum Systems White FlexiMount and Phone Mount Kit, a compact, highly adaptable setup for mobile content creation...

02/03/2026

Netflix Unveils the Trailer for '53 Sundays', the New Film by Cesc Gay

Back to All News Netflix Unveils the Trailer for 53 Sundays, the New Film by Cesc Gay Entertainment 02 March 2026 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Dis...

28/02/2026

FOX Sports Waves Green Flag on 2026 IndyCar Season With Driver's Eye, Heads Up Display, Live Drones

With two features seen in Formula 1 coverage, the broadcaster aims to bring view...

28/02/2026

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Visits L3Harris Solid Rocket Motor Site

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses a crowd of approximately 1,500 L3Harris employees in Camden, Arkansas, as part of his Arsenal of Freedom tour....

28/02/2026

2026 NAB Show Expands Sports Summit to Four Days

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/02/2026

Three TV5Monde FAST Channels Launch on Plex

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/02/2026

Nielsen Introduces 200+ New Advanced Audience Segments

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/02/2026

SBE Launches Annual Membership Drive

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/02/2026

Gray's Fox 12 Inks Deal for Portland Fire And Portland Thorns Games

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/02/2026

Berklee Presents Mambo Mania: Eguie Castrillo and the Berklee All-Stars Big Band's Tribute to Eddie Palmieri

Berklee Presents Mambo Mania: Eguie Castrillo and the Berklee All-Stars Big Band...

28/02/2026

Berklee Announces Two New Summer Programs in Los Angeles

Berklee Announces Two New Summer Programs in Los Angeles The Berklee Music Business Program and Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Workshop bring imme...

28/02/2026

NVIDIA and Partners Show That Software-Defined AI-RAN Is the Next Wireless Generation

AI-RAN is moving from lab to field, showing that a software-defined approach is ...

28/02/2026

NVIDIA Advances Autonomous Networks With Agentic AI Blueprints and Telco Reasoning Models

Autonomous networks - intelligent, self-managing telecommunications operations -...

28/02/2026

Final Trailer for BEASTARS Final Season Part 2' Roars Toward the Series' Emotional Conclusion

Back to All News Final Trailer for BEASTARS Final Season Part 2' Roars Tow...

28/02/2026

February 27, 2026

New way to intentionally discover molecular glues could expand drug discovery Scripps Research scientists and colleagues show how drugs that eliminate certain d...

27/02/2026

Scripps Appoints Oliver Gray as Vice President, Network Sports and Client Partnerships

The E.W. Scripps Company names Oliver Gray as Vice President, Network Sports and...

27/02/2026

Gotham Sports App Now Available for Purchase Through Prime Video

The Gotham Sports App, the exclusive direct-to-consumer streaming home of MSG Networks and the YES Network, is now available for purchase through Prime Video fo...

27/02/2026

ESPN, Horizon League Extend Long-Standing Rights Agreement

ESPN and the Horizon League announce a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement, continuing a 38-year collaboration that began with the 1988 Midwes...

27/02/2026

NETGEAR to Showcase Expanded Broadcast Portfolio at 2026 NAB Show

At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, NETGEAR will highlight its new switch models and major updates to its Engage Controller software. The company's network d...

27/02/2026

Teatro alla Scala Elevates Backstage Communication with Riedel's Bolero Wireless Intercom System

Riedel Communications announces that Fondazione Teatro alla Scala has deployed a...

27/02/2026

Lyuno Leverages Dante AV for Synchronization of Audio and Video Content

Lyuno specializes in media localization, including translation, dubbing, subtitling, and voice-over services for a wide array of entertainment content. The comp...

27/02/2026

Chyron Releases Weather 2.3 with New Data and Automation Features

Chyron Weather 2.3, the latest edition of Chyron's weather visualization suite for broadcasters and meteorologists, recently launched. The release includes...

27/02/2026

Telestream Advances Production-Ready AI Across its Product Portfolio

Telestream, which concentrates in media workflow technologies, announces expanded practical AI enhancements across its Vantage, Vantage Cloud, EDC, Stanza, and ...

27/02/2026

Horizon Sports & Experiences, TOGETHXR Launch Joint Venture to Power Future of Women's Sports

Horizon Sports & Experiences (HS&E), a global sports marketing, media, and live ...

27/02/2026

NBC Reunites Bob Costas, Doug Collins and 1990s NBA Legends for Spurs-Sixers on March 3

Legendary sports broadcasters Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Mike Czar of the Telest...

27/02/2026

IndyCar Season Opener: A Look into the Productions' Fast-Track IP Transformation

Beginning on March 1st, IndyCar will be kicking off their 31st season on the str...

27/02/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 5: Philadelphia Eagles' Alessandra Lane Behind the Birds in South Philly

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

27/02/2026

Ratings Roundup: NBC Sports Takes Gold With Milano Cortina 2026 Viewership Hitting All Time Highs

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

27/02/2026

SMX League Partners with Owl AI as Official AI Trailblazer to Revolutionize Action Sports Technology

Owl AI a pioneer in artificial intelligence for professional sports, announces a...

27/02/2026

Formula 1 Re-Ups Broadcast Deals With beIN SPORTS in Asia, ESPN in Latin America/Caribbean,

With over 447 million fans in APAC, Formula 1 and beIN will continue to innovate...

27/02/2026

YES Network Spotlights Brooklyn Youth With Kid Reporter' Broadcast Initiative

12-year-old Noelle Taylor will be the Kid Reporter when the Brooklyn Nets host t...