Music industry legal news

Producer who accused Karol G of beat-theft dismisses his lawsuit, adding “we were wrong”

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Karol G • 2 min read

Producer who accused Karol G of beat-theft dismisses his lawsuit, adding “we were wrong”

Last year reggaeton star Karol G was accused of ripping off another producer’s beat on her 2022 hit ‘Gatúbela’. That producer, Alfr3d Beats, said ‘Gatúbela’ was “a forgery”. But he’s now dropped his claims, saying files provided by Karol G show her track was recorded before he even posted his beat…

Chris Cooke • 20 Feb 2026

Judge says he won’t throw out Live Nation antitrust lawsuit - but will trim US government’s claims

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Judge says he won’t throw out Live Nation antitrust lawsuit - but will trim US government’s claims

The US judge overseeing the big antitrust litigation against Live Nation and Ticketmaster has declined to dismiss the case, though he has trimmed down the lawsuit, removing some of the legal claims in it. It now goes to trial next month, unless Live Nation can agree an out-of-court settlement first…

Chris Cooke • 19 Feb 2026

Will the US states keep up antitrust pressure on Live Nation if live giant’s MAGA mates force DoJ to settle?

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Live Nation • 2 min read

Will the US states keep up antitrust pressure on Live Nation if live giant’s MAGA mates force DoJ to settle?

Amid speculation that the US DoJ will settle its antitrust lawsuit with Live Nation, the state-level attorneys general also involved in the case will meet this week. If the DoJ does settle under pressure from Live Nation’s MAGA mates, the live giant’s critics hope state-level action will continue…

Chris Cooke • 18 Feb 2026

After a Live Nation lobbyist boasted he got antitrust chief sacked, US Senators ask if company has hired a “bevy of cozy MAGA friends”

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Live Nation • 3 min read

After a Live Nation lobbyist boasted he got antitrust chief sacked, US Senators ask if company has hired a “bevy of cozy MAGA friends”

Last week the US Department Of Justice’s antitrust chief resigned, following reports she was under pressure from Trump allies elsewhere in the government department to settle her antitrust litigation against Live Nation. Now Democrat senators want to know what Live Nation’s lobbyists have been up to…

Chris Cooke • 17 Feb 2026

Ador founder wins legal battle over shareholder agreement with HYBE, which now needs to pay her $17.7 million

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Hybe • 2 min read

Ador founder wins legal battle over shareholder agreement with HYBE, which now needs to pay her $17.7 million

A court in South Korea has ruled in favour of Ador founder Min Hee-jin in one of her legal battles with the label’s owner, K-pop powerhouse HYBE. It tried to terminate a shareholder agreement with Min, but a court says that deal is still in force. As a result, HYBE will have to pay Min $17.7 million…

Chris Cooke • 13 Feb 2026

Anna’s Archive ignores court order and starts making stolen Spotify files available to torrent

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Anna's Archive • 3 min read

Anna’s Archive ignores court order and starts making stolen Spotify files available to torrent

Last month a US court issued an injunction banning piracy activist group Anna’s Archive from making available any of the music files it grabbed when hacking the Spotify platform last year. Totally ignoring that court order, the piracy group is now enabling users to download about 2.8 million tracks…

Chris Cooke • 12 Feb 2026

Pandora accuses MLC of “abusing its position” as it pushes for summary judgement in royalties dispute

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Pandora • 3 min read

Pandora accuses MLC of “abusing its position” as it pushes for summary judgement in royalties dispute

Pandora and The MLC have both submitted motions seeking summary judgements in their favour in an ongoing dispute over when the US streaming service should be paying mechanical royalties. Both submissions are forthright, with Pandora claiming that the MLC is “exploiting” and “abusing” its position…

Chris Cooke • 09 Feb 2026

EU regulators tell TikTok to make changes to its “addictive design”

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TikTok • 1 min read

EU regulators tell TikTok to make changes to its “addictive design”

TikTok may be forced to make changes to its app in Europe after EU regulators said it had failed to “adequately assess” the negative impact of its “addictive design”. But TikTok says the European Commission has presented a “categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform”…

Chris Cooke • 09 Feb 2026

Chris Brown recorded ‘Sensational’ lyrics without paying the writer, claims lawsuit

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Chris Brown • 2 min read

Chris Brown recorded ‘Sensational’ lyrics without paying the writer, claims lawsuit

A new lawsuit accuses Chris Brown of cutting a fellow artist who wrote lyrics for his tracks ‘Sensational’ and ‘Monalisa’ out of the rights and royalties stemming from those works. Steve Chokpelle wants the court to confirm his status as co-author and to order Brown to pay him millions in damages…

Chris Cooke • 05 Feb 2026

Adding “hot takes” to unlicensed music is not fair use, judge confirms in rockumentary copyright case

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Universal Music • 2 min read

Adding “hot takes” to unlicensed music is not fair use, judge confirms in rockumentary copyright case

When British film-maker Robert Carruthers was sued for including uncleared music in documentaries he made about The Rolling Stones and Nirvana he employed the ‘fair use’ defence. But a US judge has ruled that adding a few ‘hot takes’ alongside the music doesn’t mean you can avoid getting licences…

Chris Cooke • 05 Feb 2026

Martin Shkreli sues Wu-Tang’s RZA in ongoing ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ battle

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Wu-Tang Clan • 3 min read

Martin Shkreli sues Wu-Tang’s RZA in ongoing ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ battle

The legal battle over who owns rights in single-copy Wu-Tang album ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ has ramped up. The crypto collective that owns the single copy is locked in a legal battle with Martin Shkreli, the pharma bro who originally bought the album. Now Shkreli is pulling RZA into the dispute…

Chris Cooke • 04 Feb 2026

BOTS Act definitely applies to Ticketmaster in FTC case, insists senator who wrote the BOTS Act

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Ticketmaster • 2 min read

BOTS Act definitely applies to Ticketmaster in FTC case, insists senator who wrote the BOTS Act

Last year the FTC accused Ticketmaster US of breaching the BOTS Act, the law that regulates how American touts access tickets to resell. The ticketing company insists that the BOTS Act does not apply to its operations, but one of the senators who wrote the act has told the court it definitely does…

Chris Cooke • 03 Feb 2026

Music industry legal news coverage