Sony Music Group and Universal Music Group will begin legal proceedings in Canada against the developers of Musi, a streaming app that pulls music from YouTube without artist authorisation. The action, announced by Music Canada on August 6, 2026, is coordinated by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and its national group Music Canada on behalf of the two major labels. Billboard

The labels describe Musi as a "parasitic" app that serves up the same content as YouTube and YouTube Music but with fewer or no advertisements. They allege the app illegally makes copyrighted material available to the public and deliberately circumvents the technical protections that normally keep YouTube content from being lifted — a practice known in the industry as stream-ripping, where audio or video is pulled from a streaming platform and saved or redistributed outside it.

Musi was removed from Apple's App Store in September 2024 following complaints from rightsholders and YouTube over copyright infringement. Users who had already installed the app can still use it, which the labels argue leaves the infringement ongoing. Music Business Worldwide

IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley said the legal action is intended to serve notice on "parasitic apps" designed to exploit artists and undermine legitimate music services. Music Canada CEO Patrick Rogers said the litigation sends a message that services built to circumvent platform protections and exploit music without authorisation "are not legitimate businesses." Billboard

The Musi case is not Canada's first crackdown on music piracy. On June 16, 2026, the Federal Court of Canada issued the country's first-ever website-blocking order on behalf of the music industry, targeting operators of stream-ripping sites including Y2Mate, YTMP3 and Savefrom, which together count over 1.7 million monthly users. Music Canada

The Canadian music industry has been active on other fronts, too. Music Publishers Canada recently intervened in a federal case on generative AI and copyright, arguing that only a human can be the author of copyright. On June 3, 2026, the Government of Canada announced plans to direct the CRTC — the country's broadcasting and telecom regulator — to reconsider its decision on streaming platform obligations, alongside $600 million in direct investment to Canada's arts and culture sectors. Music Canada

Globally, the major labels have been circling similar territory. In 2024, Sony, Universal and Warner sued AI music startups Udio and Suno for allegedly copying recordings to train their systems; in July 2026, Sony filed a new lawsuit against Udio asserting that over 30,000 sound recordings had been scraped from the internet. Los Angeles Times On the other side of the ledger, the same three majors later signed AI music licensing deals with startup Klay Vision. Associated Press

The common thread is straightforward: the companies that own the recordings want a say in who profits from them, whether the intermediary is an app, a website or an AI model. The Musi case in Canada is the latest move in that effort.