[MUSIC]
Spotify started 2018 with another round of legal woes.
The streaming service was slapped with a major copyright lawsuit by Wixen Music Publishing.
Claiming Spotify's using tens of thousands of its artists songs without license.
Wixen is asking for a massive $1.6 billion in damages.
Damages.
Lixen and Spotify have some litigation history.
In a previous class action lawsuit, Lixen objected to the proposed $43 million settlement in a court filing on behalf of it's clients.
Stating the award amount quote, offers them an unfair dollar amount in light of Spotify's ongoing, willful copyright infringement of their works, unquote.
The publisher represents a wide array of artists, including Tom Petty, Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, Weezer's, Rivers Cuomo, and many more.
In the complaint, Wixen suggests over 20% of Spotify's song library could be unlicensed.
If Spotify is found in violation of these licensing agreements, it could mean trouble for the company's plan to go public.
The company did not immediately respond to our request for comment, but it could choose to defend itself similarly to previous lawsuits where Spotify claimed streaming doesn't implicate reproduction or distribution under current copyright law.
Should Spotify be cleared of these charges or does Wixen Publishing have a case?
Drop your thoughts down in the comments.
For CNET.com, I'm Ashley Esqueda.
Be good humans.
[MUSIC]
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