Spaces In Between

Crumbl Cookies built one of the most recognizable brand presences on social media.

And in April 2025, Warner Music Group sued them for nearly $24 million.

Not for the cookies. For the music.

Here’s what every growing brand needs to know.

Warner cited at least 159 instances of Crumbl using copyrighted songs in TikTok and Instagram videos without a license. Beyoncé. Taylor Swift. Dua Lipa. Bruno Mars. BTS. Coldplay. Up to $150,000 per track.

But here’s the detail that stings most:

Crumbl received a cease-and-desist in August 2023. And kept posting.

THE MISCONCEPTION THAT COST THEM

Just because TikTok and Instagram let you add a popular song to a post does not mean your brand has the legal right to use it commercially.

Platform agreements cover personal use. The moment your brand promotes a product with that track, even organically, you need a sync license. Both the master recording and publishing rights cleared.

And it gets worse: Crumbl’s influencer partners are named too. Once money changes hands, the brand can be liable for what influencers post.

THE FIX IS NOT COMPLICATED

- Use pre-cleared, licensed music from the start
- Know that platform music libraries ≠ commercial clearance
- Brief your influencers on music compliance before anything goes live
- Have one conversation with a music licensing professional before your content scales

One conversation. Before the cease-and-desist. Before the $24 million lawsuit.

This is exactly the gap the Spaces In Between Productions Sync Library is built to fill, ethically sourced, pre-cleared music that brands can use with confidence, directly supporting indie artists.

The Crumbl story didn’t have to end this way. Yours doesn’t have to start that way.