Basketball and hip-hop have been connected since the beginning. Rappers hoop. Hoopers rap. And the NBA, the first major business in basketball, uses its connections to hometown rappers to help promote both its brand and the sport.
However, a new interest has stepped in to stop the NBA from doing just that. According to Billboard, multiple NBA teams were recently sued by Kobalt and other music rights management companies over using songs from the likes of Cardi B, Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Migos, and more on social media to promote hometown teams like the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Atlanta Hawks on social media.
Multiple lawsuits were filed, but all contain language to the following effect: “Defendants are acutely aware of the protections that the copyright laws of the United States afford. [The team] utilizes the full extent of legal protections available for its own intellectual property while simultaneously knowingly and willfully infringing on the intellectual property rights of the plaintiffs.”
Publishing groups that also filed lawsuits include Artist Publishing Group, Notting Hill Music, and Prescription Songs, filing against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Orlando Magic, the Phoenix Suns, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Sacramento Kings, and the San Antonio Spurs.
While social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok offer blanket licenses to use music (remember when Universal withdrew its entire catalog from TikTok?), those songs aren’t supposed to be used for commercial purposes by brands. Brands are supposed to purchase separate synch licenses, the same way they would for television ads (think of popular songs in movie trailers; a license must be purchased for that specific usage). This could see the end of teams using music from hometown rappers on social media in the future — or it could mean a new revenue stream for artists (or, at least, the companies that own their publishing rights).