Music industry legal news

Royalty agency that “pilfered millions” from Dionne Warwick is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, singer claims

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Dionne Warwick • 3 min read

Royalty agency that “pilfered millions” from Dionne Warwick is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, singer claims

Last year Dionne Warwick was sued by a royalty management company which said the singer had unlawfully terminated a 25 year old agreement. Now Warwick has countersued claiming that agreement was unfair and has been incorrectly applied, resulting in her losing millions in royalties…

Chris Cooke • 12 Mar 2026

High Court sides with Kneecap, ending the Hezbollah flag criminal case against Mo Chara

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Kneecap • 3 min read

High Court sides with Kneecap, ending the Hezbollah flag criminal case against Mo Chara

The Hezbollah flag criminal case against Kneecap member Mo Chara is over. High Court judges have backed a ruling last year that said prosecutors missed a crucial deadline when charging the rapper with a terror offence after he allegedly displayed a Hezbollah flag during a London show in 2024…

Chris Cooke • 11 Mar 2026

Live Nation antitrust trial judge says individual US states should seek direct settlement with live music giant

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation antitrust trial judge says individual US states should seek direct settlement with live music giant

The US government settled its antitrust lawsuit with Live Nation yesterday, but 27 US states, which also accuse the live giant of anticompetitive behaviour, are not part of that deal. The judge has told the states to see if they can agree their own settlement. If not, the antitrust trial will resume…

Chris Cooke • 10 Mar 2026

Google had every opportunity to train its AI legally, but chose to do it on the cheap instead, say indie musicians in new lawsuit

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Google • 3 min read

Google had every opportunity to train its AI legally, but chose to do it on the cheap instead, say indie musicians in new lawsuit

Another AI copyright lawsuit, this time a group of indie artists are suing Google over its Lyria model. Like all AI companies, the lawsuit says, Google infringed copyright when training its model. But Google’s “conduct is different”, because it has the infrastructure in place to train AI legally…

Chris Cooke • 10 Mar 2026

PRS sues gaming platform giant Steam for copyright infringement

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PRS For Music • 3 min read

PRS sues gaming platform giant Steam for copyright infringement

PRS is suing gaming platform Steam for copyright infringement. Although the publishers of games sold via Steam will have secured sync licences for any UK compositions they include, that doesn’t cover the subsequent making available of music when games are downloaded, which only PRS can license…

Chris Cooke • 09 Mar 2026

Lords tell UK government it needs to “choose between two AI futures”, before backing the kind of future the music industry wants

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Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

Lords tell UK government it needs to “choose between two AI futures”, before backing the kind of future the music industry wants

The UK government has to provide a plan around AI and copyright by 18 Mar. Ahead of that, a committee in the House Of Lords has published a report endorsing the music industry’s position: AI companies shouldn’t be given a free ride and must get licences when making use of existing content…

Chris Cooke • 06 Mar 2026

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager bust-up heads to court over disputed sunset clause

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Chance The Rapper • 3 min read

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager bust-up heads to court over disputed sunset clause

The big legal battle between Chance The Rapper and his former manager Patrick Corcoran has arrived in court in the US. They stopped working together in 2020, but Corcoran said his management deal allowed him to continue commissioning for three more years. That deal, however, was never written down…

Chris Cooke • 05 Mar 2026

Taylor Swift and Barclays Center ticketing controversies prove monopolist Live Nation is damaging live music, DoJ tells jury

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Live Nation • 4 min read

Taylor Swift and Barclays Center ticketing controversies prove monopolist Live Nation is damaging live music, DoJ tells jury

The Live Nation antitrust trial got properly underway yesterday, with lawyers for the US Department Of Justice and the live giant - both called Dave - delivering their opening statements. Ticketing dramas involving Taylor Swift and New York’s Barclays Center were a key part of the proceedings…

Chris Cooke • 04 Mar 2026

No copyright for AI-generated works in US as Supreme Court refuses to intervene in earlier landmark ruling

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Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

No copyright for AI-generated works in US as Supreme Court refuses to intervene in earlier landmark ruling

Do AI-generated works enjoy copyright protection? The US Copyright Office is adamant they do not under current American law and that position has been endorsed by various courts. The Supreme Court has now declined to get involved, meaning that position stands. But should AI works enjoy protection?…

Chris Cooke • 03 Mar 2026

Judge let’s Kanye West sample lawsuit proceed, but only because he commercialised his demos

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Kanye West • 3 min read

Judge let’s Kanye West sample lawsuit proceed, but only because he commercialised his demos

Kanye West’s lawyers last week enjoyed some success in an uncleared sample dispute over ‘Donda’ tracks, with a lawsuit being cut back to only claims relating to demo versions. They also had another go at getting a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee dismissed on free speech grounds…

Chris Cooke • 02 Mar 2026

Judge looks set to tell Live Nation to quit dilly dallying as DoJ gears up for its day in court

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Judge looks set to tell Live Nation to quit dilly dallying as DoJ gears up for its day in court

The big US antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation is due to get to trial next week. However, Live Nation wants to delay the proceedings by appealing a recent ruling made in the case. But the judge overseeing the legal battle, Arun Subramanian, says he’s inclined to deny Live Nation’s request…

Chris Cooke • 26 Feb 2026

ProtonVPN says it shouldn’t have to cut off pirates - but fails to convince French courts

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ProtonVPN • 2 min read

ProtonVPN says it shouldn’t have to cut off pirates - but fails to convince French courts

ProtonVPN has failed to convince a French court that it shouldn’t have to instigate web-blocks against sporty piracy sites because of legal and technical issues. The French ruling is important for the music industry, which is keen to force a wider range of internet companies to block piracy sites…

Chris Cooke • 23 Feb 2026

Music industry legal news coverage