Will the real Slim Shady please stand up, because it sounds like there are some imitations out there? Marshall Mathers is better known under his rap name of Eminem, and with it, he's remembered as one of the most influential artists of all time.
With an impressive catalog that includes 13 number-one albums on the Billboard 200, Eminem was the best-selling music artist in the United States from 2000 to 2009, and also has the honor of being the best-selling male music artist in the USA of the 2010s. Everyone knows an Eminem song, and apparently, if you've been on a Meta platform anytime recently, you'll likely have heard a few, too.
Mark Zuckerberg's media empire has grown to include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, with the first two known for their Original Audio and Reels. Unfortunately, the ability to add music to your Boomerang could be about to cost the tech giant dearly.
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While some might think Mathers is behind the times due to his love of Blackberry, his legal team has proved he's pretty tech-savvy. Eight Mile Style is Eminem's production company and has filed a lawsuit against Meta for "unauthorized storage, reproduction and exploitation" of the artist's work over several platforms. The filing states that features including Original Audio and Reels "allow and encourage its users to steal" Eminem's music "without proper attribution or license."
Some of Eminem's biggest songs include the likes of "The Real Slim Shady", "Forgot about Dre", and "My Name Is", which you might've even used yourself in the background of your clips on Facebook or Instagram.
Eight Mile Style is asking for "the diminished value of the copyrights by Defendants’ theft of them, lost profits, and Defendants’ profits attributable to the infringement." Alternatively, Mathers' team is seeking the maximum statutory damages for 243 songs. As this works out at $150,000 each, it could cost a whopping $109,350,000 unless an agreement can be reached.
Now, Meta has responded to the claim and denied any wrongdoing. PEOPLE has obtained a statement from Meta, with the company saying: "Meta has licenses with thousands of partners around the world and an extensive global licensing program for music on its platforms.
"Meta had been negotiating in good faith with Eight Mile Style, but rather than continue those discussions, Eight Mile Style chose to sue."
It's thought that Meta's 2020 licensing deal with digital music royalty collection firm Audiam didn't include Eminem's songs. The suit claims that although some songs were removed due to an earlier complaint, Meta "reproduced and stored unauthorized unlicensed copies."
Eminem's side concludes that his songs "are some of the most valuable in the world, and Eight Mile Style is very protective of these iconic songs".