Music industry legal news

StubHub sued over “bait and switch” drip pricing system

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StubHub • 3 min read

StubHub sued over “bait and switch” drip pricing system

Secondary ticketing platform StubHub has been sued in the US over its drip pricing and the way it explains its fees. The Attorney General for the District Of Columbia has filed a lawsuit which he says aims to end StubHub’s exploitative pricing scheme…

Chris Cooke • 01 Aug 2024

The 1975 sued over Matty Healy’s controversial comments at Malaysian festival

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The 1975 • 3 min read

The 1975 sued over Matty Healy’s controversial comments at Malaysian festival

The promoter of the Malaysian festival where The 1975 caused controversy last year has sued the band. Matty Healy broke strict rules when he criticised Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws mid-set, causing the rest of the festival to be canceled. The promoter says the band had promised to obey the rules…

Chris Cooke • 31 Jul 2024

NO FAKES Act will make likeness and voice rights non-assignable, cap licensing duration

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AI • 10 min read

NO FAKES Act will make likeness and voice rights non-assignable, cap licensing duration

The NO FAKES Act, which provides a new right to enable people to stop the unapproved use of their likeness and voice in the context of AI, has been introduced in the US Senate. There are restrictions on the assignment and licensing of the new right which artist groups in particular will welcome…

Chris Cooke • 31 Jul 2024

Subscribers didn’t ask for audiobooks says MLC as it hits back at Spotify

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MLC • 2 min read

Subscribers didn’t ask for audiobooks says MLC as it hits back at Spotify

The bundling battle between Spotify and US collecting society the MLC continues. In a new letter to the court where it has sued the streaming service, the MLC says that Spotify has failed to demonstrate that audiobook access has any value to its premium subscribers…

Chris Cooke • 30 Jul 2024

Gloria Gaynor sues music producer in work for hire dispute

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Gloria Gaynor • 2 min read

Gloria Gaynor sues music producer in work for hire dispute

Gloria Gaynor has sued a music producer who she signed a record deal with back in 1983. He claims it was a work for hire agreement meaning he owns the rights in the tracks they made together, but Gaynor disagrees. The same lawsuit also deals with a dispute between the producer and Robin Randall…

Chris Cooke • 30 Jul 2024

TikTok’s plans to allay data security concerns were simply insufficient, US government insists in new court submission

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TikTok • 3 min read

TikTok’s plans to allay data security concerns were simply insufficient, US government insists in new court submission

The US Department Of Justice last week filed documents in response to TikTok’s lawsuit that is trying to block the sell-or-be-banned law passed by Congress earlier this year. The DoJ sets out various data security concerns and says TikTok’s proposals for overcoming them just weren’t good enough…

Chris Cooke • 29 Jul 2024

South Africa pushes back against US criticism of fair use copyright reforms

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Copyright • 3 min read

South Africa pushes back against US criticism of fair use copyright reforms

The US copyright industries recently criticised plans to introduce fair use into South Africa’s copyright laws. The South African government has hit back, arguing the reforms allow its copyright regime to “keep up with innovation”. It will also likely make the country more attractive to AI companies…

Chris Cooke • 29 Jul 2024

Martin Shkreli says his copies of single-copy Wu-Tang album are legit and he shouldn’t have to give them up

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Wu-Tang Clan • 2 min read

Martin Shkreli says his copies of single-copy Wu-Tang album are legit and he shouldn’t have to give them up

The ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ saga continues. The NFT collective that owns the single-copy Wu-Tang album recently went legal after previous owner Martin Shkreli admitted he still has copies of the record. In a new filing Shkreli says his copies are legit and he should be allowed to keep them…

Chris Cooke • 26 Jul 2024

French and Italian record industries secure new web-blocks

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web-blocking • 2 min read

French and Italian record industries secure new web-blocks

Web-blocking remains an anti-piracy tactic of choice for the music industry. This week the record industries of both Italy and France welcomed the issuing of a number of new web-blocking orders in their respective countries, the Italian ones all targeting stream-ripping…

Chris Cooke • 26 Jul 2024

Man jailed for nearly five years after defrauding $3 million from concert organisers eager to book Justin Bieber

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Music industry legal news coverage • 2 min read

Man jailed for nearly five years after defrauding $3 million from concert organisers eager to book Justin Bieber

Two men pleaded guilty earlier this year to scamming nearly $3 million out of a number of concert promoters by falsely claiming to have booked pop stars like Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish to perform at shows. One of those men has now been sentenced to nearly five years in jail…

Chris Cooke • 25 Jul 2024

TikTok criticised over missing safety features in its Lite app

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TikTok • 2 min read

TikTok criticised over missing safety features in its Lite app

A new report from the Mozilla Foundation raises concerns about the TikTok Lite app, claiming that it does not contain many of the safety features found in the main TikTok app, including the labelling of AI-generated content. TikTok says the report is misleading…

Chris Cooke • 25 Jul 2024

It’s “common sense” that audiobooks have “more than token value” says Spotify in MLC lawsuit response letter

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Spotify • 4 min read

It’s “common sense” that audiobooks have “more than token value” says Spotify in MLC lawsuit response letter

Spotify has sent a letter to the court where it has been sued by the MLC in the ongoing dispute over its decision to classify its premium subscription as a music + audiobooks bundle. That centres on whether audiobook access has “more than token value”. Spotify argues that common sense says it does…

Chris Cooke • 24 Jul 2024