Merlin Sues TikTok Competitor Triller Over Unpaid Music Licensing Fees

The plaintiff in the legal case is Merlin, a digital music licensing group representing indie labels, distributors, and other rights holders. In a complaint filed at the end of March, Merlin claimed that Triller violated a mutual licensing agreement signed in 2020. The agreement reportedly included a “most favored nation (MFN)” clause requiring Triller to compensate Merlin for any differences if it offered higher licensing fees to another music company.

It was through a previous lawsuit against Triller filed in 2022 that Merlin discovered that the short-form video platform had offered higher fees to another record company, which Merlin chose not to identify in its complaint. However, many insiders believe it is Sony Music Entertainment that sued Triller back in 2022 over alleged unpaid licensing fees worth millions of dollars for Sony-owned music used on the platform.

The lawsuit initiated by Sony ultimately concluded with a mutual agreement between the two parties, with Triller agreeing to pay the music company $4.57 million. During the lawsuit, Merlin allegedly discovered that Sony had been offered a better licensing deal, which meant that Triller was required to pay the respective difference. Reportedly, the two parties “came to an understanding” that Triller owed Merlin a total of $2.55 million. However, the platform never made the payment, as explained in the complaint.

As Merlin further elaborates in the suit, Triller failed to fulfill another part of the agreement. As part of the 2020 deal, Triller granted Merlin a warrant for a specific amount of its stock, which meant that Merlin had the right to purchase a certain number of Triller’s shares at a predetermined price. Additionally, this warrant had to be honored even if the company was sold or merged with another firm.

Eventually, Triller underwent a significant transformation, merging with AGBA, a Hong Kong-focused financial services firm, in 2024 to create Triller Group. According to the licensing company, the warrant for Triller stock would have been converted into a warrant for an equivalent amount of stock in the new Triller Group. However, that never happened.

“Triller… failed to comply with the terms of the warrant, including by failing to confirm, in a written instrument, that the successor company to Triller Hold Co LLC would assume the obligation to deliver to Merlin such units, securities or assets that Merlin is entitled to pursuant to the warrant,” states the complaint.

Merlin requests the court in the lawsuit for $2.55 million in licensing fees along with interest, and seeks an order for Triller to honor the warrant issued to Merlin—or alternatively, to award damages for failure to comply.