Eminem's Publishers Suing Meta For KSh 14.2 Billion

Eight Mile Style, the music publishing company that oversees Eminem’s early catalogue, has filed a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms, seeking more than KSh 14.2 billion (USD 109 million) in damages over alleged copyright infringement.

According to a report by People, the lawsuit accuses Meta of “storing, reproducing, and exploiting” 243 songs from Eight Mile Style’s catalogue across its platforms—including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—without proper authorisation.

The songs in question span from 1995 to 2005 and, although Eminem himself is not a plaintiff in the case, they form a significant part of his early discography.

The complaint cites Meta’s platform features such as Original Audio and Reels Remix, which allegedly “allow and encourage users to steal Eight Mile Style’s music” for content creation “without proper attribution or licensing.”

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The suit claims the songs have been featured in millions of videos and streamed billions of times.

Eight Mile Style is pursuing statutory damages of KSh 19.5 million (USD 150,000) for each of the 243 infringed works, totalling KSh 14,215,500,000 (USD 109,350,000), and has requested a jury trial. The company says it has suffered “diminished copyright value, lost profits, and unjust enrichment by Meta.”

“These songs are among the most valuable in the world,” the court documents state, “and Eight Mile Style is highly protective of this iconic catalogue.”

The lawsuit further alleges that Meta had previously pursued licensing rights via Audiam, Inc.—a digital royalty collection and distribution platform—but Eight Mile Style maintains that it did not authorise access through Audiam.

While some songs were removed following earlier complaints, the company claims that Meta continued to “store and reproduce unlicensed copies” without permission.

As of now, Meta has not issued a public statement in response to the lawsuit.

Eminem, born Marshall Mathers, became a global sensation in 1999 after signing with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and releasing The Slim Shady LP.

His subsequent albums, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), achieved massive commercial success—the latter becoming the best-selling album of the year worldwide and the top-selling hip-hop album of all time.