Music Liability Insurance: Music E&O for Copyright, Sample and Defamation Claims

Music liability insurance is coverage for claims about what's in your music and around it: the melody, the lyrics, the samples, the artwork, the videos and the posts. The industry also calls it music E&O. It's a different thing from gear or venue liability, which deal with a stolen amp or someone tripping over a cable at your show. Music liability is about the songs themselves. See everything SongSure covers, including masters, studio, tour and gear.

If you put music out, someone can claim a piece of it. Here's what that looks like by role:

• Musicians and bands. Every release, cover, collaboration and merch design is something another person can point at and call theirs.
• Producers and beatmakers. Samples, loops and beats you license to other artists. One question that keeps coming up on producer forums: "any beat makers sell beats and have insurance." You can, and you should think about it, because a claim on a beat can follow it into every track it lands on.
• Songwriters and publishers. "Your song copied mine" claims land on the writers and on the publishers who hold the copyrights.
• Record labels. A catalog means exposure across every release in it. Labels also deal with withheld royalties and bootlegs, which is where Fight Back comes in.
• Studios. Other people's material walks through your door every session.

If you've been searching for copyright infringement insurance for musicians, this is it.

"Your song copied mine."

A copyright claim over a song can turn on a few notes, a title or a feel. You don't have to mean to copy anything to get sued, or to lose. Music liability can help pay for your legal defense and certain settlements.

• Blurred Lines: "Seven days, $7.4 million, five years." Pharrell Williams sued first. The Gaye family won anyway, and the running royalty keeps paying them. The jury awarded $7,378,647.19; after the judge cut it, the judgment came to $5,314,350.34. Read the case
• My Sweet Lord: "Three notes, $1,599,987, twenty years." George Harrison never meant to copy a thing. The court believed him. He lost anyway. Read the case
• Bolton / Isley: "One title, two songs, twenty-five years." Michael Bolton testified he never heard the Isley Brothers' obscure 1966 single, but a jury returned a general verdict of infringement, and the verdict costs $5.4 million. Read the case

Sample claims

Samples are where small takings turn into big cases. A claim can come from whoever owns the recording, whoever owns the song, or both. Music liability can help defend you when someone says a sample wasn't cleared.

• Bridgeport v. Dimension: "Two seconds, one license, zero excuses." A two-second Funkadelic guitar sample, looped in an N.W.A track, made the Sixth Circuit declare that sound recordings have no de minimis defense. Its line: "Get a license or do not sample." The Ninth Circuit later rejected that rule, so where you get sued matters. Read the case
• Newton v. Diamond: "Three notes, six seconds, four years." The Beastie Boys paid $1,000 to license the recording, never licensed the composition, won the case, and got four years of federal litigation anyway. Read the case
• Grand Upright v. Warner: "Three words, ten defendants, 'Thou shalt not steal.'" Biz Markie asked for a license to use Gilbert O'Sullivan's song, then released the record without one. The judge granted an injunction and referred the defendants to the U.S. Attorney. Read the case

Music liability isn't a substitute for sample clearance. Clear your samples, and have coverage for the claim you didn't see coming.

Lyrics, artwork, videos and posts

Your words and images can draw claims too. If someone says your lyrics, artwork, videos, or posts defamed them or misused their trademark, music liability can help pay for your legal defense and certain settlements. Claims over what a song says or names can run for years, even when the song wins.

• Mattel v. "Barbie Girl": "Eleven claims, no award." Mattel sued a Danish pop song over a plastic doll, bringing eleven claims, including trademark claims, over the use of the Barbie name. The song won. The meter ran anyway, from 1997 to 2002. Read the case

Your recordings

If someone says one of your recordings uses their work, voice, or face without permission, music insurance can help defend that claim. That can mean a vocal, a clip in your video or a person in your footage.

The cases that should worry you most are the ones the artist won. Every figure below comes from the court records in each post.

• Dark Horse: "Eight notes, $2.8 million, eight years." Katy Perry beat the "Dark Horse" lawsuit. A jury awarded $2,789,310.48. The judge threw it out, and the appeals court agreed. Winning still took eight years. Read the case
• Stairway to Heaven: "One page, $12 million, six years." Led Zeppelin won the "Stairway to Heaven" lawsuit. The victory came with Warner/Chappell's claimed $613,471 lodestar, which no court would make anyone else pay. Read the case
• Thinking Out Loud: "Two lawsuits, four chords, and a nine-figure demand." Ed Sheeran beat both "Thinking Out Loud" lawsuits. The SAS case still ran from 2018 to a Supreme Court denial in 2025. Read the case
• Shake It Off: "Six words, no verdict, five years." The case ran about five years, through an appeal and a summary judgment fight, and ended in a stipulated dismissal with prejudice. No court awarded a dime. Each side paid its own lawyers. Read the case
• Levitating: "Several hundred CDs, one Facebook friend, fifteen months." A Florida reggae band sued Dua Lipa. The band could not plead facts plausibly showing she ever heard their song. The case was dismissed, and it still took fifteen months. Read the case

You don't have to lose to pay. Music liability can help pay for the defense.

Most insurance only shows up to defend you when you get sued. This half works the other way. Fight Back can help pay for a lawyer to go after someone who steals or misuses your music.

Sampled without pay

Someone samples your track or uses your master without clearance or payment. Fight Back can help pay for a lawyer. Rights holders have gone after this before:

• Grand Upright v. Warner. Gilbert O'Sullivan's side went after an unlicensed use of "Alone Again (Naturally)" and got a preliminary injunction against all ten defendants. Read the case
• Bridgeport v. Dimension. The owner of the Funkadelic recording went after a two-second sample, and the Sixth Circuit revived its claim. The published record doesn't show how it finally ended. Read the case

Royalties held back

A label or distributor keeps collecting on masters you own, or won't pay the royalties you're owed. Fight Back can help recover unpaid royalties. It can help pay for a lawyer to go after the label or distributor. Make sure you're registered to collect in the first place with done-for-you PRO and royalty registration.

Your name, their band

Another band or company starts using your band name or logo. Fight Back can help cover cease-and-desist letters.

• Outkast v. Ovrkast: "Two letters apart, thirty-one pages long." Outkast's trademark company says Ovrkast's name is nearly identical to theirs and that he walked away from a deal to change it. Ovrkast says he never signed anything. The case was filed September 16, 2026, and is pending. Read the case

Check your name first with a free artist name check.

Bootleg merch

Shirts and posters with your name, art, or face on them show up on tour or online, and you never said yes. Every one is a sale you didn't make, with art you didn't approve. Fight Back can help stop sales of bootleg merch.

Your song in their ad

A brand or ad uses your song or your likeness without permission. Fight Back can help pay for a lawyer.

• Dua Lipa v. Samsung (2026). She says her photo was printed on Samsung TV packaging without permission and is seeking $15M+. Samsung has moved to dismiss. Pending. Sources: CreatorSure case list and Music Business Worldwide

Streaming theft

Someone uploads your songs under their own name or claims your Content ID. Fight Back can help with takedowns and Content ID disputes. Need it down fast? Try our managed takedowns.

Public court cases summarized from court records and press reports for illustration. The people named have no connection to SongSure. More court-record stories

It depends on what kind of claim it is.

Claims about defamation and advertising. For ordinary businesses, like a plumber, general liability (GL) Coverage B, personal and advertising injury, does typically cover defamation and advertising-injury claims. But that protection is typically limited or excluded for businesses primarily engaged in advertising, broadcasting, publishing or telecasting. That's called the media exclusion. Labels, publishers and artists releasing music can fall into that group.

Claims that your song infringes. Coverage B is aimed at your advertising. Claims that your song itself infringes are what music liability is built for.

Make videos or podcasts? CreatorSure explains this in detail.

Music liability is one part of what SongSure offers. Master recordings, studio liability, tour cancellation, and gear and instruments are all available too. See everything SongSure covers. Once you're covered, the SongSure app lets you generate a certificate of insurance on demand for venues and partners: less than 30 seconds to a certificate.

Your price will depend on underwriting, selected limits, and coverage. It's just like someone asking what your help on a song would cost. The answer is "it depends."

Pay-in-full and monthly payment options are offered where available. Tell us a little about you. A real person will review it and reach out to get your quote started.

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On the form, check Music for music liability. Check Fight back (going after people who steal your music) to add Fight Back.

Coverage depends on your policy's terms, conditions and exclusions.

Not a musician? CreatorSure covers creators, podcasters, filmmakers and more.