Defamation in the music world

The rise of social media and technology has allowed music artists to independently build their careers, connect directly with their fans, promote releases instantly and create global audiences from their homes. However the use of social media by artists is not without risk.

In this article, we look at the potential legal exposure for music artists from a defamation perspective.

A growing issue for artists

Most music artists are not taught about defamation law. Yet today’s artists regularly publish content to their audiences through social media, livestreams, interviews, podcasts, and music releases, often without stopping to think about how those statements (whether verbal or written) might be interpreted by others.

Many artists assume that:

social media posts are casual and do not really matter;
song lyrics are always protected because they are creative;
deleting posts makes any problem go away; and
online arguments are just part of the music industry.

These assumptions can create real problems for music artists.

The problem of informality on social media

Social media encourages immediacy. Artists are often expected to be authentic, direct, and unfiltered. This can create a false sense of safety, where posts feel temporary or confined to a fan audience.

In practice, online content is public, permanent, and easily shared beyond its original context. A comment made in frustration can quickly spread, be reported on, or remain accessible long after it has been deleted.

The informal nature of a statement does not prevent it from having legal significance.

What Is defamation?

The term “defamation” covers libel and slander. Both concern the publication of defamatory material that adversely affects another person’s reputation.

The distinction between the two is that libel concerns lasting forms of publication such as print, online or broadcasting. Slander concerns transient forms of publication such as spoken words or gestures.

Slander will be actionable only if the claimant can show that it has caused tangible damage. By contrast, damage is presumed in libel, although a claimant still needs to prove that serious harm has been caused, or is likely to be caused, to their reputation, as was confirmed by the Supreme Court in Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd [2019] UKSC 27.

Requirements to establish a defamation claim

Statement is defamatory

A claimant must show that the words complained of are defamatory to them. They must first establish whether the words complained of are defamatory at common law, which means that the statement is likely to lower the claimant in the estimation of right-thinking people.

Identifies the claimant

A claimant must also be able to show that the statement they are complaining about identifies or refers to them. They do need to be named, provided they are identifiable.

Publication

The third element required to establish a defamation claim is that the statement is published (that is, communicated) to a third party.

Serious harm

Since the enactment of the Defamation Act 2013, claimants must also demonstrate that the published statement has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to the reputation of the claimant (section 1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013).

What defences can be raised?

Several defences may apply in defamation proceedings. These include: ‘truth’, ‘honest opinion’, ‘publication on a matter of public interest’, ‘absolute privilege’ and ‘qualified privilege’. Defences such as truth are easy to understand, whereas other defences (such as honest opinion)’s applicability can be the subject of lengthy legal argument.

Understanding the context

At Brett Wilson, we advise artists and individuals working across the music and creative industries on matters involving reputation, public statements, and disputes connected to online content.

If a concern has arisen in relation to something said, posted or released publicly, our London-based team is available to discuss the situation in a confidential and considered manner.