Chi Modu's Estate Sues Universal Over a Tupac Photo

Universal cited only its own archive as the photo source, leaving the creator uncredited. On June 24, 2022, the estate of photographer Chi Modu, who died in 2021, filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, as reported by Billboard and Complex.

Every Year on Tupac’s Birthday

The allegation: on its website uDiscoverMusic.com, Universal used a photo of Tupac taken by Modu in the article “Best Tupac Songs: 26 Essential Tracks” and credited “Universal Music Archives,” failing to mention Modu’s authorship. According to Billboard, the piece first appeared on June 16, 2019, Tupac’s birthday, and was republished with slight changes on the same date each year.

A Cease-and-Desist Letter Without a Response

According to the complaint, the estate, represented by trustee Sophia Modu, had already sent a cease-and-desist letter on February 9, 2022, to which the corporation had not responded adequately. Ten unknown additional parties are also named as defendants.

According to the reports, Universal had not yet commented. There is no ruling in the sources.