( September 3, 2025, 15:44 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Musixmatch and private equity owner TPG Global must face LyricFind's antitrust claims over an alleged scheme with music publisher Warner Chappell Music to foreclose competition for lyric data services and lyric rights licensing, a US judge ruled. LyricFind's allegations support a plausible inference that there is no procompetitive aspect to an exclusive agreement between Musixmatch and WCM to cut off LyricFind's previously non-exclusive access to WCM's lyrics catalogue, gaining Musixmatch exclusive access to lyric data services and rights licensing to the injury of the plaintiff, said the order mostly denying the defendants' motion-to-dismiss filed in the US Northern District of California. The plaintiff also plausibly alleges TPG's controlling stake in Musixmatch makes it liable under the single enterprise theory, and that after a failed attempt at acquiring LyricFind, TPG engaged in a "buy-or-bury" scheme. However, while LyricFind plausibly alleges direct evidence of market or monopoly power by Musixmatch in the lyrics data services and rights sublicensing market, it does not do the same for the lyric rights licensing market, and several of its state antitrust law claims are dismissed with leave to amend, the judge ruled.See attached document: ...
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