Complete Music Update has put together an in-depth breakdown of the lawsuit from LyricFind alleging it created an exclusive deal with Warner Chappell specifically to block LyricFind’s potential partnership with Spotify and monopolise the lyrics licensing market.
Lyric aggregator LyricFind has filed an explosive antitrust lawsuit against its main competitor Musixmatch, which – it alleges – entered into an expensive exclusivity deal with Warner Chappell in order to hinder its competitors’ access to market. And, more specifically, to scupper a possible deal between LyricFind and Spotify, the biggest customer for lyric aggregation services.
– Chris Cooke, Complete Music Update
There was “no legitimate business justification” for the exclusivity deal, LyricFind insists, and the entire arrangement was simply an “anticompetitive scheme to protect, maintain and increase Musixmatch’s monopoly”.
Announcing the litigation, LyricFind founder Darryl Ballantyne says that his company has spent the last 20 years operating in an ever evolving and increasingly competitive business providing lyrics to digital platforms. That “competitive atmosphere”, he adds, “led to more money for rightsholders and a better experience for music fans”.