Drew Barrymore Sued Over Unlicensed Music in Ad

Another day, another lawsuit in the music industry. This time, Drew Barrymore’s brand promotion has landed her in legal hot water over unlicensed music use.

Drew Barrymore is facing a lawsuit from the German music company INSTNCT for allegedly using an unlicensed track in an Instagram Reel promoting her cosmetics brand FLOWER Beauty. The lawsuit centers on the song ‘You Make Me Happy,’ performed by My Sun And Stars, which was featured in a social media advertisement without securing the necessary permissions.

INSTNCT claims that Barrymore’s Instagram Reel, which remains available online, contains a promotional video for FLOWER Beauty synchronized to their track. According to the lawsuit, the defendants, including Barrymore, her company, and her business partner Maesa, “copied, publicly performed and distributed the work synchronized to a video advertisement without INSTINCT’s permission.”

The music company asserts that it possesses all rights to ‘You Make Me Happy,’ a song co-written by Emma Patterson (My Sun And Stars) and Adam Specter. While platforms like Instagram have licensing agreements with the music industry, these only apply to user-generated content, not to commercial brand content.

Barrymore’s Instagram post, while on her personal profile, served as an advertisement for FLOWER Beauty products that were available through Walmart, a major U.S. supermarket chain. Since its launch in 2013, her brand has been promoted across various platforms, including her own daytime television show, ‘The Drew Barrymore Show.’ However, FLOWER Beauty was discontinued last year when Maesa announced it would exit the color cosmetics category.

A spokesperson for Maesa previously praised Barrymore, stating, “we have been fortunate to have Drew Barrymore as a great founder partner and we are grateful for the incredible journey we have shared.” Now, that journey faces a legal challenge. INSTNCT is seeking substantial damages from all defendants involved, holding them liable for copyright infringement.

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