By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) – TikTok rival Triller Inc has agreed to pay Sony Music Entertainment more than $4.5 million to resolve claims that Triller breached an agreement covering its use of musicians’ songs on the platform, according to a Wednesday filing in Manhattan federal court.
Sony Music said Triller admitted to liability and would pay the amount it owed under their contract plus interest. The label asked the court for a final judgment on the claim immediately, citing concerns about Triller’s ability to pay.
“Triller is more than a year late on some of those contract payments and Sony Music should not have to wait longer to enforce a judgment to collect,” the filing said.
The label also said part of its lawsuit that alleges Triller infringed its copyrights would continue.
An attorney for Sony Music declined to comment Thursday. Representatives for Triller did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sony Music sued Los Angeles-based Triller last August, claiming it had not made any payments since that March under a 2016 content-distribution agreement.
The lawsuit included examples of dozens of songs by Sony Music artists including Britney Spears, Harry Styles and Janis Joplin that Triller Inc allegedly misused.
A Triller spokesperson said at the time that it removed Sony Music’s catalog from the platform and that Sony’s complaint had “grossly mischaracterized” their relationship.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)
