Triller responds to Sony’s lawsuit

In August, Sony sued Triller for allegedly failing to pay the company millions in licensing fees on time.

Sony said “Triller had historically failed to make payments in a timely manner” before these purported failures to pay “escalated” in the lead-up to the action this year.

Triller denied a number of accusations in the lawsuit, but it confirmed that the non-payment had escalated in their six-year partnership from March for a number of reasons. 

Another issue raised by the major label is that Triller had been acquiring a number of platforms amid their missing payments. “During the exact same months that Triller was failing to make licensing payments to Sony Music, it went on a purchasing spree,” the lawsuit reads.” 

Recent purchases by Triller include customer-engagement platform Amplify.ai, combat-sports streaming service FITE and music-competition programme Verzuz.

Meanwhile, Universal Music, Warner Music and Merlin removed their catalogues from Triller earlier this month. Universal and Triller first had licensing disputes in 2021.

The Sony lawsuit is among a number filed against Triller. In September, the platform paid $28m to Verzuz creators Timbaland and Swizz Beatz following a separate lawsuit. 

Aside from lawsuits and acquisitions, the company announced that it had raised more than $300m in equity ahead of a long-planned IPO.