Sony Music is suing Kroger over accusations that the supermarket giant used songs by Harry Styles, Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus and SZA without permission in TikTok and Instagram posts.
The case is the latest in a blitz of litigation from major labels over music used by commercial brands in social media posts. Marriott, Chili’s and NBA teams have all faced lawsuits, and many more companies have settled privately.
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In a complaint filed Friday (Aug. 21), Sony claims Kroger — a grocery behemoth with 2,800 stores across 35 states — has posted nearly 400 unauthorized uses of its music, including songs by Beyoncé, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Outkast, Prince, Pitbull and The White Stripes.
“This action is to stop the Kroger Parties’ rampant infringement of Sony Music’s sound recording copyrights in advertisements posted to the Kroger Parties’ social media accounts and through ‘influencers’ whom the Kroger Parties pay,” the label’s lawyers write.
Sites like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat offer libraries of licensed songs that make it easy for users to add music to their posts. But those tracks are for personal use only; businesses or paid influencers must utilize a far more limited commercial library or go get a sync license, just like any conventional advertisement on TV.
In Friday’s lawsuit, Sony accused Kroger of flouting those rules to “capitalize on the popularity, artistry, and entertainment value” of its music.
“The Sony music recordings are central to the effectiveness and appeal of the videos,” the company’s lawyers write. “[The music] enables the Kroger parties to take advantage of the social media platforms’ algorithms and reach users who do not necessarily follow [them].”
Sony claims that Kroger is clearly aware that it needed to pay to use the songs, since it “previously entered into numerous licenses with Sony Music to include Sony Music recordings within its advertisements.”
The lawsuit lists numerous specific examples of Kroger’s posts, including an Instagram post advertising watermelons set to Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” and another promoting holiday cocktail recipes to Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
“[Kroger’s] selection of the [songs] is calculated: The Kroger Parties choose specific recordings because of their cultural and seasonal associations and use those associations to sell products,” Sony’s lawyers write. “These are precisely the types of uses for which Sony Music charges a license fee.”
Numerous songs were allegedly used when they were trending hits, including Cyrus’ “Flowers,” Doja Cat‘s “Paint The Town Red” and Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” when each song was at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
A spokeswoman for Kroger did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday (Aug. 24).
Kroger is only the latest company to face such claims in recent years. Sony filed a case against Marriott in 2024, followed by Kobalt suing 14 NBA teams. Universal Music Group later sued Chili’s, Warner Music Group sued Crumbl Cookies, and Sony launched a case against the University of Southern California. DSW filed its own preemptive case against all three majors, claiming it was legally entitled to use music provided by the platforms.