Universal Music Group is suing Quince over accusations that the ecommerce startup used copyrighted songs in hundreds of Instagram and TikTok posts without paying for them, including Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”
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In a case filed Thursday (April 16), UMG called Quince a “sophisticated, multi-billion dollar global operation” that had deliberately chosen to rely on trending songs like Zara Larsson’s “Lush Life” to boost its brand on social media — but had refused to pay for them.
“Due to the resonance of popular music with consumers, Quince and its social media influencers have, without authorization, used many of plaintiffs’ most valuable [songs],” UMG’s lawyers write in a complaint obtained by Billboard. “Plaintiffs have no choice but to bring this suit to remedy the harm done by Quince’s rampant and brazen infringement, which continues to this day.”
The case is the latest in an industry-wide crackdown on brands that use music on social media — a practice that’s been widespread for years, but one that labels and publishers increasingly view as unlicensed advertising. Over the past three years, music companies have filed similar suits against Marriott, Chili’s, NBA teams, Crumbl Cookies, DSW and the University of Southern California.
TikTok and Instagram provide huge libraries of licensed music for users to easily add to their videos, but businesses or paid influencers can’t legally use them. They can instead only utilize a far more limited commercial library; if a popular song isn’t in there, they must go get a sync license directly from the owners — just like any conventional advertisement on TV.
According to UMG, Quince has flouted those rules repeatedly and “disseminated hundreds of infringing videos” over the past several years. The songs include viral sensations like Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” and Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True” as well as those by huge stars like Bad Bunny, Drake, Rihanna, Olivio Rodrigo, Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande and music legends like Frank Sinatra and Etta James.
UMG says the uncleared music was part of a strategic effort by Quince to gain traction through social media, including through close tracking of “trending audio” — songs and other audio clips that have gone viral on TikTok or Instagram: “The infringing videos are a key aspect of Quince’s promotional, marketing, and branding strategy.”
And the music giant says Quince obviously “knew or should have known” that it needed to pay, but chose to “ignore” the rules. UMG’s lawsuit pointedly notes that the ecommerce platform is a large company that “has knowledge of intellectual property and licensing,” and that one of its top executives previously worked at Spotify.
“Despite its emphasis on social media and touted savvy in this area, including its ‘head of brand’ prominently listing her former position at Spotify, Quince has brazenly used plaintiffs’ music without authorization in its advertising,” UMG’s lawyers write.
UMG claims it first alerted Quince about the problem way back in September 2024. Though the company responded two months later that it had “fully addressed the copyright concerns” raised by UMG, the lawsuit says that statement was “false” — and that unlicensed videos have continued through the present day.
“In March 2026 alone, Quince made at least seven more infringing posts exploiting significant, commercially valuable works,” UMG says, including Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” and Bieber’s “Daisies.”
The lawsuit is seeking $150,000 for every UMG song that was allegedly infringed, the maximum allowed under federal copyright law. Though such damages would be heavily litigated during the case, that request would amount to tens of millions of dollars for the more than 100 allegedly-infringed songs listed in UMG’s lawsuit. Quince did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday (April 20).
