Universal Music Group and the Beastie Boys have reached confidential settlements to end their respective lawsuits against Chili’s.
Accusing the restaurant chain of using their music in social media advertisements without permission, on Wednesday (5.21,) court filings informed federal judges that Chili’s owner, Brinker International, had agreed to settlements with both the record company and the superstar rappers during a mediation session some fourteen days prior.
In 2024, UMG and the Beastie Boys sued Chili’s alleged the eatery had featured their copyrighted music in advertisements on TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms without buying a “synch” license required to include a song in commercial or promotional content.
The Beastie Boys claimed that Brinker used their iconic 1994 song ‘Sabotage’ in a promotional video without permission.
The Chili advertisement featured three men in 70s-style wigs carrying out a “robbery” of food ingredients from a Chili’s outlet. The rap trio claimed these visuals clearly evoked the ‘Sabotage’ music video, which featured Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz, Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond and the late Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch in similar attire.
Not the first time the restaurant chain has featured superstar repertoire, UMG has alleged that dozens of Chili’s social media advertisements used unlicensed music from the label, including music by artists Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Lana Del Rey, Luke Bryan, Travis Scott and The Weeknd.
At press time, the terms of the settlements have yet to be revealed.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Maddy Julien