Sony Music v. Kroger, 392 recordings in social media ads

Background

On August 21, 2026, Sony Music Entertainment and nine affiliated labels filed a copyright infringement suit against The Kroger Co. and 18 related entities in the US District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint alleges at least 392 unauthorized uses of Sony recordings in social media advertising, spread across accounts run by Kroger-owned brands including Ralphs, Mariano's, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer Jewelers, Murray's Cheese, Home Chef and Ruler Foods, as well as posts by influencers paid to promote those brands.

The complaint describes the conduct as "rampant infringement" and leans on a detail that makes the willfulness argument unusually direct: Kroger had previously entered at least 14 separate licensing agreements with Sony through 2025, including a 2020 campaign that licensed a Lovin' Spoonful recording for social media use. Sony's position is that a company that has repeatedly paid for sync licenses cannot plausibly claim it did not know one was required.

Sony seeks statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work, which across 392 alleged uses puts the theoretical ceiling near $58.8 million. The case follows a string of similar Sony enforcement actions over music in brands' social content, including suits involving Marriott and OfficeMax and a recently reported settlement in principle with shoe retailer DSW.

Kroger has not publicly responded to the allegations.

Why It Matters for Artists and Fans

Like the Musi action, this is a case where the label is the plaintiff, enforcing rights against an outside company rather than defending its accounting to its own artists. Unlicensed commercial use of recordings in ads is about as clean an infringement theory as copyright law offers, and sync licensing is real income that flows in part to artists.

The question this tracker keeps asking still applies: enforcement wins and artist payment are separate events. If Sony recovers tens of millions from Kroger, how much of it reaches the artists whose recordings soundtracked those grocery ads depends on contract terms and accounting practices, the exact machinery at issue in the Dupri and Limp Bizkit suits on this same page.

The volume strategy is also worth watching. Sony has turned brand social accounts into a steady enforcement pipeline, and settlements like DSW's suggest most defendants pay rather than litigate. That makes each new filing less about the individual defendant and more about pricing a de facto licensing regime for social media advertising.