“Cheese Tax” lawsuits put creator music licensing in focus
The creator behind Puppy Songs alleges that Kroger and LG used the account’s “Cheese Tax” song in advertisements without obtaining proper licenses, according to Tubefilter’s October 23 roundup. The companies are facing lawsuits over that alleged use, putting a creator-made song’s commercial permissions at the center of the dispute.
The song turns a familiar dog-owner routine into a joke: opening the cheese drawer means paying your dog a little cheese. That recognizable premise is what Kroger and LG sought to capitalize on, Tubefilter reports. For creators who write original songs for videos, the useful business observation is that a recurring bit can become something a brand wants to use independently of the account that made it popular.
The report is brief. It does not provide the licensing terms at issue, the companies’ responses or a court ruling. The allegation should therefore be treated as a disputed claim, not a finding that either company infringed the creator’s rights.
If a brand approaches you about an original song, one practical suggestion is to discuss advertising permission explicitly rather than leaving it folded into a general conversation about collaboration. Clarifying which uses a proposed agreement covers—and documenting that understanding—keeps the discussion focused on the asset the brand wants. The Puppy Songs dispute offers a concrete reason to have that conversation before an ad runs.
Source: Tubefilter · 2026-10-23
By Hookami
