Budweiser Parent Apologizes For ‘$0 Spent On Music Rights’ Boast

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the parent company of Budweiser, has apologized for its Cannes Grand Prix-winning ad campaign that boasted of not paying for music rights.

The campaign:

• The “One Second Ads” campaign was spearheaded by Budweiser’s Brazilian unit for its TikTok page, and used one-second clips from songs by artists such as Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Foo Fighters without licensing them.

• Users could win coupons by correctly identifying songs from the one-second clips.

• The campaign boasted that by using such short samples it spent “$0 on music rights,” a claim that was emphasized in the Cannes Lions case study.

• This generated fierce criticism from music and licensing professionals.

• Digital Music News quotes Dave Chase of LSTNR saying the commercial use of music requires a fully paid license, regardless of sample length.

The apology:

• As per Music Business Worldwide, AB InBev has issued an apology in which its Brazilian unit, Ambev, stated: “We deeply respect artists and hear the concern.”

• It added: “We have a long history of supporting musicians, festivals and events. We’re sorry and are working to resolve this.”