A Crumbl Cookies location in 2023. Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Warner Music Group (WMG) has launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against Crumbl, Music Business Worldwide reports. The complaint cites 159 videos on Crumbl’s social media pages that contain allegedly unauthorized usages of music by WMG artists; WMG is asking for $150,000 in statutory damages per video, up to $23.85 million in total if a judge grants the maximum penalty per video.
The lawsuit accuses Crumbl, a company that relies heavily on social media to promote their products, of creating videos using songs by WMG artists without compensating them. By way of example, WMG points to videos that use songs like Lil Mosey’s “Blueberry Faygo” (used on a video for blueberry cheesecake cookies) and Coldplay’s “Yellow” (yellow sugar cookie).
WMG says they sent Crumbl a cease-and-desist letter in August 2023, but the company continued posting allegedly infringing content. However, a caption in a January 2024 TikTok video references potential legal issues: We were gonna make a funny video to promote Mystery Cookie, but legal said we can’t use any trending audios.”
Crumbl’s ownership may be in the process of exploring a $2 billion sale, Reuters reported in January. Read the full lawsuit here.
