Universal Music Group (UMG), ABKCO, and Concord Music Group have filed a lawsuit against Believe and its distribution arm, TuneCore, accusing the companies of massive ongoing copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed on November 4 in Manhattan federal court, seeks at least $500 million in damages. The plaintiffs claim that Believe has been distributing fraudulent recordings, including altered tracks from top artists like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, ABBA, and others, across streaming platforms and social media sites.

The complaint alleges that Believe’s business model is fueled by piracy, with the company turning a blind eye to illicit content, often featuring misspelled artist names or remixed versions of popular songs. It further accuses Believe of exploiting YouTube’s content management system to divert royalties, creating financial harm for rightful copyright holders.

UMG and the other plaintiffs assert that Believe’s actions involve direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement, including for pre-1972 sound recordings. The lawsuit underscores the broader issue of fraud in the increasingly democratized music industry, where platforms like TuneCore have been criticized for enabling bad actors to release music they do not own the rights to.

This legal action is not the first to address such practices. Previous lawsuits against TuneCore and other distributors have raised concerns about royalty theft and metadata manipulation. The case highlights ongoing challenges within the digital music distribution ecosystem, which continues to grapple with piracy and fraudulent activity.