Music industry legal news

Malaysian festival can’t sue individual members of The 1975, says band’s lawyer

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The 1975 • 2 min read

Malaysian festival can’t sue individual members of The 1975, says band’s lawyer

The lawsuit filed by a Malaysian festival against The 1975 following their controversial performance at the event in 2023 was in court this week. The band’s lawyers began by arguing that, while the festival can sue The 1975’s company, individual band members should be removed from the litigation…

Chris Cooke • 20 Feb 2025

Leadmill operator vows to “exhaust every possible legal avenue” after losing eviction battle in court

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The Leadmill • 3 min read

Leadmill operator vows to “exhaust every possible legal avenue” after losing eviction battle in court

The current operator of Sheffield’s The Leadmill has acknowledged that a judge has ruled against him in an eviction dispute with landlord The Electric Group. However, he says the Save The Leadmill campaign continues and all legal routes will be pursued before he vacates the premises…

Chris Cooke • 20 Feb 2025

Sony Music says Ultra copyright lawsuit “an ill-conceived” and retaliatory ploy filed to “exact revenge” over trademark dispute

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Sony Music • 3 min read

Sony Music says Ultra copyright lawsuit “an ill-conceived” and retaliatory ploy filed to “exact revenge” over trademark dispute

Sony Music says that a copyright lawsuit filed against it by Ultra Music Publishing should be dismissed, because it fails to identify “any particular infringing acts”. Not only that, but the lawsuit was filed in retaliation after it sued the Ultra publisher for trademark infringement…

Chris Cooke • 19 Feb 2025

Turning Point wants out of the Isaac Hayes estate’s Trump lawsuit, because the President himself was in charge of the playlist

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Turning Point • 2 min read

Turning Point wants out of the Isaac Hayes estate’s Trump lawsuit, because the President himself was in charge of the playlist

Right wing group Turning Point got caught up in the lawsuit filed by the Isaac Hayes estate over Donald Trump’s use of the song ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’, because it hosted events for the President. But it says it should be removed from the lawsuit because it wasn’t involved in Trump’s musical choices…

Chris Cooke • 19 Feb 2025

Leadmill operator reportedly loses battle against eviction - and can’t even demolish the toilets on his way out

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The Leadmill • 2 min read

Leadmill operator reportedly loses battle against eviction - and can’t even demolish the toilets on his way out

The operator of Sheffield venue The Leadmill, Phil Mills, has reportedly lost a court battle in which he was fighting an eviction order. Mills planned to demolish a toilet block before vacating the building, but the local council has declined to give planning permission for any demolition work…

Chris Cooke • 18 Feb 2025

Radio royalties back on US Congressional agenda - including a bizarre “do nothing” bill

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Radio royalties • 3 min read

Radio royalties back on US Congressional agenda - including a bizarre “do nothing” bill

The music industry has been campaigning for decades to end a quirk of US copyright law that means AM/FM radio doesn’t pay royalties to artists and labels. Proposals for ending the quirk have been reintroduced in Congress, as have rival proposals backed by the radio sector that promote the status quo…

Chris Cooke • 17 Feb 2025

Tony Buzbee’s Jay-Z lawsuit dismissal shows “system has failed” as “no repercussions” for lawyer, says rapper

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Jay-Z • 2 min read

Tony Buzbee’s Jay-Z lawsuit dismissal shows “system has failed” as “no repercussions” for lawyer, says rapper

Jay-Z has declared “victory” after a Diddy lawsuit that also accused him of rape was dismissed by the women who filed it. However, he said, the trauma his family have endured since he was named as a co-defendant can’t be dismissed, stressing again that the lawsuit should never have been filed…

Chris Cooke • 17 Feb 2025

MLC asks judge to reconsider Spotify ruling, otherwise the “injustice will be manifest”

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Spotify • 2 min read

MLC asks judge to reconsider Spotify ruling, otherwise the “injustice will be manifest”

Last month a US judge dismissed the lawsuit filed by The MLC against Spotify over its decision to reclassify its premium subscription product as a music + audiobooks bundle, reducing what it has to pay to songwriters and publishers. The MLC now wants the judge to reconsider that ruling…

Chris Cooke • 14 Feb 2025

TikTok back in Apple and Google US app stores, as Trump says he may further postpone the ban

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TikTok • 3 min read

TikTok back in Apple and Google US app stores, as Trump says he may further postpone the ban

TikTok is back in the Apple and Google app stores in the US. They both removed the app when a ban went into effect in January, even though Donald Trump immediately paused the ban. Meanwhile, Trump says he’s confident he can still negotiate a deal that means the TikTok ban never needs to happen…

Chris Cooke • 14 Feb 2025

MPs urge government to maintain AI and copyright amendments in Data Bill to “protect our creative industries”

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Artificial Intelligence • 4 min read

MPs urge government to maintain AI and copyright amendments in Data Bill to “protect our creative industries”

Last month the House Of Lords amended the UK government's Data Bill to add some copyright obligations for AI companies. The bill was debated in the House Of Commons yesterday, where some MPs urged the government to retain those amendments in order to “protect our creative industries”…

Chris Cooke • 13 Feb 2025

Diddy sues NBC for defamation over murder and child abuse claims in ‘Making Of A Bad Boy’ documentary

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Diddy • 3 min read

Diddy sues NBC for defamation over murder and child abuse claims in ‘Making Of A Bad Boy’ documentary

Last month NBC aired a documentary all about the scandals surrounding Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. In a new lawsuit, Combs says that allegations in the programme - and especially its claims accusing him of murder and child abuse - were defamatory, with those claims based on mere hearsay and speculation…

Chris Cooke • 13 Feb 2025

US judge demolishes fair use defence in what could be landmark AI lawsuit

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Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

US judge demolishes fair use defence in what could be landmark AI lawsuit

An AI company’s fair use defence in a copyright legal battle filed by Thomson Reuters has been rejected by an American judge. It’s a significant ruling because of the numerous US lawsuits against AI companies, including those filed by the music industry, that centre on the fair use defence…

Chris Cooke • 12 Feb 2025

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