Music industry legal news

Judge refuses to move Live Nation’s antitrust litigation to a Washington DC court

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Judge refuses to move Live Nation’s antitrust litigation to a Washington DC court

The US government filed its big antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation with the courts in New York. Live Nation wanted the legal battle to be fought in Washington DC and presented arguments as to why the litigation should be moved. A New York judge has now rejected those arguments…

Chris Cooke • 07 Oct 2024

Fleetwood Mac producer says stage play about a fictional band rips off his memoir

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Fleetwood Mac • 2 min read

Fleetwood Mac producer says stage play about a fictional band rips off his memoir

In 2012, producer Ken Caillat published a memoir about his work on Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’. He reckons that book formed the basis of the Broadway play ‘Stereophonic’, about a band working on a new album. The writer of the play denies that’s the case, but Caillat has sued for copyright infringement…

Chris Cooke • 03 Oct 2024

Free music app removed from Apple App Store, seemingly after YouTube intervention

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Musi • 2 min read

Free music app removed from Apple App Store, seemingly after YouTube intervention

Apple has removed the free music app Musi from its App Store. IFPI has been calling for the app to be removed since last year, because Musi pulls in music from YouTube rather than negotiating licensing deals with labels. However, it is possible that an intervention by YouTube prompted Apple to act…

Chris Cooke • 27 Sep 2024

Beyoncé warns Trump off lemonade: Walz asks Neil Young for personal favour

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Beyoncé • 3 min read

Beyoncé warns Trump off lemonade: Walz asks Neil Young for personal favour

Beyoncé’s people issued a cease and desist after the Donald Trump campaign used her track ‘Freedom’ in a campaign ad without permission. The Kamala Harris campaign has been using the same song, but with permission. It has also got the all clear from Neil Young to play ‘Rockin In The Free World’…

Chris Cooke • 22 Aug 2024

UK competition regulator closes investigation but warns Apple and Google: we will use new powers to make app ecosystem fair

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Google • 3 min read

UK competition regulator closes investigation but warns Apple and Google: we will use new powers to make app ecosystem fair

UK competition regulator the CMA has closed ongoing investigations into Apple and Google’s rules around in-app payments. Though mainly because recently passed laws boost the power of the CMA and it therefore believes any investigation would be better done in the context of enforcing those new laws…

Chris Cooke • 22 Aug 2024

The majors also want the US Supreme Court to intervene in the Cox case

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Cox Communications • 4 min read

The majors also want the US Supreme Court to intervene in the Cox case

The major record companies have asked the US Supreme Court to intervene in their dispute with Cox Communications. They had been set to receive a billion dollars in damages, but an appeals court ruling could see that figure slashed. The majors want the appeals ruling reversed…

Chris Cooke • 21 Aug 2024

Ten more states join US government’s Live Nation lawsuit, which now seeks treble damages

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Live Nation • 2 min read

Ten more states join US government’s Live Nation lawsuit, which now seeks treble damages

The US government has filed an amended version of its lawsuit against Live Nation, which accuses the company of anticompetitive conduct. Attorneys General from ten more states have joined the litigation, which has been amended to say that states can claim ‘treble damages’ on behalf of their citizens…

Chris Cooke • 20 Aug 2024

Isaac Hayes estate sues Donald Trump for copyright infringement

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Isaac Hayes • 4 min read

Isaac Hayes estate sues Donald Trump for copyright infringement

Donald Trump’s use of the Isaac Hayes song ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’ at rallies has resulted in a lawsuit from the musician’s estate, saying the Trump campaign has infringed its copyright. The campaign says it’s covered by a BMI licence, putting the spotlight back on the complexities of music licensing…

Chris Cooke • 20 Aug 2024

German record industry secures injunction against another stream manipulation site

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Stream Manipulation • 2 min read

German record industry secures injunction against another stream manipulation site

The German record industry has secured another injunction against a stream manipulation service. Trade group BVMI has got injunctions against six such companies since 2020. The latest to be targeted with court action is Pimpyourfollower.de…

Chris Cooke • 19 Aug 2024

Anthropic’s latest legal filing tells court to focus on whether using lyrics is “transformative fair use”

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Anthropic • 4 min read

Anthropic’s latest legal filing tells court to focus on whether using lyrics is “transformative fair use”

Anthropic has asked the court to dismiss all but the core direct copyright infringement claim in the lawsuit filed against it by a group of music publishers. It argues that claims of contributory and vicarious infringement, and in relation to copyright management information, are “implausible”…

Chris Cooke • 19 Aug 2024

Revoke billion dollar damages award otherwise Grandma will be thrown off the internet, says Cox in Supreme Court copyright battle

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Cox Communications • 3 min read

Revoke billion dollar damages award otherwise Grandma will be thrown off the internet, says Cox in Supreme Court copyright battle

Internet access for millions of American consumers and businesses is in jeopardy unless the US Supreme Court overturns the billion dollar copyright judgement that the major labels secured against ISP Cox Communications, says the company in a colourful and highly dramatic US Supreme Court filing…

Chris Cooke • 16 Aug 2024

Spotify adds pricing information into its iOS app in Europe

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Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify adds pricing information into its iOS app in Europe

Spotify has signed up to Apple’s revised App Store terms in Europe, which include changes forced by EU law, allowing it to promote subscription packages within its iOS app. However, there won’t be links to payment pages on Spotify’s website, because it still objects to Apple’s terms on commissions…

Chris Cooke • 15 Aug 2024

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