Roblox facing $200 million lawsuit for allegedly using music without authorisation
Including songs from high-profile artists such as Ariana Grande, deadmau5 and Ed Sheeran
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) is suing Roblox for allegedly using music from many artists without authorisation.
According to Variety, the NMPA is seeking a minimum of $200 million in damages for writers or copyright holders who claim their songs are being used illegally in Roblox’s massively popular online game platform and game creation system.
The lawsuit relates to songs recorded by high-profile artists including Ariana Grande, Imagine Dragons, deadmau5, Ed Sheeran and the Rolling Stones.
Roblox, which reportedly has over 42 million active daily players and some 200 million monthly users, is particularly popular among children. Its creator went public in March and currently has a market capitalisation of almost $52 billion.
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NMPA CEO David Israelite announced the lawsuit against Roblox, which is seeking monetary damages for its “unabashed exploitation of music without proper licenses”, at the group’s AGM.
He claimed Roblox has earned “hundreds of millions of dollars by requiring users to pay every time they upload music onto the platform — taking advantage of young people’s lack of understanding about copyright — and then they take virtually no action to prevent repeat infringement or alert users to the risks they are taking”.
According to the NMPA, the suit “will ensure songwriters are fully paid for their works on the platform and that Roblox takes seriously its obligations to those who have made its service so popular and profitable”.
