Music industry legal news

SoundExchange can’t sue Sirius in federal courts, says judge in royalties dispute

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SoundExchange • 3 min read

SoundExchange can’t sue Sirius in federal courts, says judge in royalties dispute

A US judge has said that collecting society SoundExchange doesn’t have the right to file lawsuits in order to enforce its members’ rights. Which isn’t ideal. That ruling has been made in SoundExchange’s ongoing royalties dispute with satellite broadcaster Sirius, which it sued in 2023…

Chris Cooke • 08 Aug 2025

HYBE founder returning to Korea to deal with mounting controversies, he tells staff in leaked memo

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Hybe • 2 min read

HYBE founder returning to Korea to deal with mounting controversies, he tells staff in leaked memo

HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk has told staff that he is returning to Korea to “transparently work” with officials investigating allegations he misled investors ahead of the company’s IPO. Bang has been in the US of late, which he says “contributed to confusion and frustration” around the investigation…

Chris Cooke • 07 Aug 2025

Salt N Pepa say its “time to fight for our rights” as Universal legal bust up continues

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Salt N Pepa • 3 min read

Salt N Pepa say its “time to fight for our rights” as Universal legal bust up continues

Salt N Pepa have spoken about their legal dispute with Universal Music. The duo want to exercise the termination right and reclaim rights in their 1980s recordings. The major says they don’t qualify. But, the rappers insist, that right is meant to protect the artist and “we are the artist”…

Chris Cooke • 07 Aug 2025

Boomtown ups drugs policing as coroner says dealers operated freely at festival

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Boomtown • 3 min read

Boomtown ups drugs policing as coroner says dealers operated freely at festival

A coroner has reported on his inquest into the drug-related death of a festival-goer at last year’s Boomtown, concluding that drugs were “freely available to purchase” at the event. Local police say plans are in place this year to “disrupt” the sale of drugs on site at the festival…

Chris Cooke • 06 Aug 2025

Sony sues Napster over $9.2 million in unpaid royalties

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Sony Music • 2 min read

Sony sues Napster over $9.2 million in unpaid royalties

Following reports earlier this year that Napster wasn’t paying all the royalties that were due to the music industry, Sony Music has now sued the streaming service. It says Napster hasn’t been paying its bills for over a year now and new owner Infinite Reality hasn’t fixed the problem…

Kaya Robertson • 05 Aug 2025

US music creators welcome latest proposal for web-blocking, which big tech dubs “a tool for censorship”

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Web blocking • 3 min read

US music creators welcome latest proposal for web-blocking, which big tech dubs “a tool for censorship”

More proposals were made last week to introduce web-blocking as an anti-piracy tool for copyright owners under US law. Music creators have welcomed the proposals, called the Block BEARD Act, but big tech says web-blocks are “a dangerous mechanism” that will result in legitimate content being blocked…

Chris Cooke • 04 Aug 2025

Controversial ruling on US termination right fulfills the intention of Congress, say creators

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Copyright • 4 min read

Controversial ruling on US termination right fulfills the intention of Congress, say creators

Earlier this year a court ruling expanded the scope of the termination right in US copyright law, saying that creators can reclaim rights globally, not just in the US. That potentially overturns longstanding industry convention, but creator groups insist it was the right ruling and should be upheld…

Chris Cooke • 01 Aug 2025

Implementation of EU AI Act “solely benefits” AI companies say creator groups who demand a complete rethink

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Artificial Intelligence • 2 min read

Implementation of EU AI Act “solely benefits” AI companies say creator groups who demand a complete rethink

The European Commission has now published various documents setting out how AI companies should comply with copyright and transparency obligations in the EU AI Act. However, creator groups say their concerns were ignored when those documents were being compiled and they should therefore be rewritten…

Chris Cooke • 30 Jul 2025

As FTC begins crack down on ticket scalping, scalpers say Ticketmaster endorses their practices

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Secondary Ticketing • 4 min read

As FTC begins crack down on ticket scalping, scalpers say Ticketmaster endorses their practices

The FTC in the US has started to crackdown on ticket scalpers that it reckons have violated the BOTS Act, which prohibits certain practices for sourcing tickets for resale. But one targeted scalping company says its ticket sourcing practices are not only lawful but also authorised by Ticketmaster…

Chris Cooke • 29 Jul 2025

HYBE’s headquarters raided twice in one week as legal issues spiral

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Hybe • 2 min read

HYBE’s headquarters raided twice in one week as legal issues spiral

The Seoul HQ of K-pop company HYBE has been raided twice in the last week, first by officials investigating fraud allegations against founder Bang Si-hyuk and then today by tax inspectors. Both raids relate to allegations of misconduct around HYBE’s 2020 initial public offering…

Chris Cooke • 29 Jul 2025

Hungary Kneecap ban is “fucking outrageous” and has “no legal basis”, says band

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Kneecap • 3 min read

Hungary Kneecap ban is “fucking outrageous” and has “no legal basis”, says band

Hungary has banned Kneecap from entering the country ahead of a planned performance at Sziget Festival next month. The festival says the move by the Hungarian government is “unnecessary and regrettable”, while Kneecap have dubbed it “fucking outrageous”, insisting there is no legal basis for the ban…

Chris Cooke • 25 Jul 2025

‘Implied jokes licence’ no laughing matter says comedy lawyer in stand-up streaming stand off

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Pandora • 2 min read

‘Implied jokes licence’ no laughing matter says comedy lawyer in stand-up streaming stand off

A group of comedians sued Pandora for copyright infringement on the basis that, although it had permission to stream recordings of their performances, it never got licences covering their comedy material. But a judge who has reviewed the case says Pandora had an implied licence for all the jokes…

Chris Cooke • 25 Jul 2025

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