When the audience sings... the artist pays

In Germany, a court decision has just caused quite a stir in the world of music and law.

The rapper Fler has been fined €65,000... for lyrics he didn't sing himself, but which his audience repeated in concert.

The conflict between Fler and Bushido intensifies. In his diss track “No Name”, Fler violently attacks German gangsta rap pioneer Bushido, his wife and even his children. One particularly explosive sentence suggests that Bushido is not the biological father of his children. On December 11, 2019, the Munich court banned the broadcast of these remarks, considering that the lyrics unlawfully infringed the personality rights of Bushido's children - on pain of a fine. The rapper more or less complied...

But in the summer of 2023, during three concerts, Fler handed his microphone to the audience, who chorused the forbidden lyrics in his place. He remained silent, but did nothing to stop them.

For the judges, the message is clear: Fler knows that lyrics are forbidden and encourages their dissemination by his audience. He doesn't sing, but he lets it happen, even encourages it.

On February 21, 2024, the Munich District Court ruled against him. The Munich Court of Appeal confirmed this judgment on April 17, 2024.

Then, on December 19, 2024, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected his appeal: Fler had to answer not only for his own words, but also for those chanted by others. Encouraging the public to circumvent a court ruling is tantamount to contravening it oneself.

What about artistic freedom? The Court recognizes it, but points out a simple limit: it does not authorize knowingly circumventing a legal ban.

In other words, you can't hide behind your audience.

This is an interesting decision to compare with French law: how would our courts assess such “delegation” to the crowd in the context of a judicial ban?

Credits: Vishnu R Nair