This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: AI music firms Suno and Udio hit back hard at a billion-dollar copyright lawsuit filed by the major labels; Damon Dash faces a court-ordered auction of his one-third stake in Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records; Cardi B files for divorce from husband Offset; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: “A Threat to Their Market Share”
The first “answer” to a lawsuit is typically a pretty sparse document. An accused defendant admits or denies each claim and offers up a list of every possible defense they might use, but that’s about it. The real arguments are usually saved for later filings, like a motion to dismiss the case.
That’s what made the answers filed last week by AI music firms Suno and Udio so fascinating. Facing sprawling copyright lawsuits from the music industry, the two companies went well beyond boilerplate denials – offering extended arguments that attempted to frame the narrative of a multi-billion dollar legal battle that could take years to resolve.
In doing so, they admitted to using copyrighted songs to train their models, and they argued that doing so was clearly a form of legal “fair use.” And they blasted the major labels (Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment) that filed the case, accusing them of abusing copyright law to maintain that power.
“What the major record labels really don’t want is competition,” Suno wrote in its filing. “Where Suno sees musicians, teachers and everyday people using a new tool to create original music, the labels see a threat to their market share.”
Go read our full story on the response filings, with access to the full arguments made by both companies.
Other top stories this week…
REASONABLE DOUBT? – Damon Dash’s one-third stake in Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records is going up for a court-ordered auction later this month to help pay off his debts – namely, more than $1 million in legal judgments and another $145,000 in unpaid child support. The minimum bid for the auction has been set at $1.2 million, but it’s not exactly clear what the buyer would be purchasing — and they shouldn’t expect a normal due diligence process.
JT PLEADS NOT GUILTY – Justin Timberlake entered a not guilty plea to drunk driving charges following his June arrest in the Hamptons, appearing virtually while on the European leg of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour. During the hearing, the star’s attorney reiterated previous statements that Timberlake (who refused to take a breathalyzer) was actually not intoxicated at the time of his arrest.
CARDI B DIVORCE – Cardi B filed for divorce from Offset after seven years of marriage, a split that her reps said “has been a long time coming and is amicable.” In her divorce petition, filed in New Jersey court, the Grammy-winning hip-hop superstar is seeking primary custody of her two children and unborn baby on the way, as well as child support from Offset. The “WAP” star previously filed for divorce in 2020 in Atlanta, but later withdrew the case after the two stars reconciled.
DON’T STOP LITIGATIN’ – The never-ending legal battle between Journey members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon erupted yet again, with Cain filing a new lawsuit against Schon over claims that his “exorbitant” spending and other problems have led to a “deadlock” that’s threatening to cripple the band’s touring operations. If you want an idea of how dysfunctional things have gotten between Cain and Schon: “It is common that one director will terminate an employee or crew member, and hours or days later, the other director will rehire that same individual.”
NO BOND FOR YOUNG THUG – Judge Paige Reese Whitaker, the newly-installed replacement judge overseeing Young Thug’s sprawling Atlanta gang trial, denied the rapper’s renewed request to be released from jail, leaving him incarcerated until a verdict is reached sometime next year. Thug has already been sitting in jail for more than two years while the slow-moving case has dragged on, through an unprecedented 10-month jury selection, a trial marked by delays and disruptions, and now weeks of tumult over a secret meeting between the judge and prosecutors.
FEDERAL AI DEEPFAKES BILL – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the NO FAKES Act, which aims to protect artists and others from deepfakes and AI-powered fake vocals like last year’s Fake Drake song. The bill would for the first time create federal intellectual property protections for the so-called right of publicity, which restricts how someone’s name, image, likeness and voice can be used without consent.
STUBHUB SUED OVER ‘JUNK FEES’ – StubHub was hit with a lawsuit from Washington D.C.’s attorney general over allegations that the ticket resale platform foists “convoluted junk fees” on concertgoers after luring them in with “deceptively low prices.” The case, which echoes complaints made by the Department of Justice about Live Nation and Ticketmaster, claims that DC consumers alone have paid $118 million in such fees to StubHub since 2015.
R. KELLY AT SCOTUS – The disgraced R&B singer took one of his sex abuse convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court, urging the justices to overturn his convictions for child pornography and enticement on statute of limitations grounds. The appeal does not deal with Kelly’s other set of convictions on racketeering charges, which remains pending before a lower court.
KISS KISS, BANG BANG – The 1975 and the band’s frontman Matty Healy were hit with a $2.4 million lawsuit from the organizers of Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival – an event that was shut down last summer after Healy gave a speech criticizing the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws and then kissed a male bandmate on stage. The incident (which has been criticized by local rights activists as counterproductive) breached the band’s contract with the festival, according to the lawsuit.
SAMPLE SETTLEMENT – French Montana reached a settlement to end a lawsuit claiming his 2022 song “Blue Chills” features an unlicensed sample from Skylar Gudasz’s 2020 song “Femme Fatale.” The deal will resolve a case that claimed French’s reps had tentatively agreed to license the clip, but that the rapper released the song without ever actually doing so.
JUICE WRLD ESTATE SUED – A music producer named Joshua Jaramillo is suing Juice WRLD’s estate over claims that he’s owed royalties from the late rapper’s 2021 hit “Girl of My Dreams.” Jaramillo claims he was promised a 5% ownership stake and an additional 1% producer royalty for the track, which featured Suga of BTS and debuted at No. 29 on the Hot 100.
ANOTHER TIKTOK CASE – The Justice Department filed a new lawsuit against TikTok claiming the social media giant had violated children’s online privacy law and run afoul of a previous settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. While serious, the case is likely second on the list for TikTok’s legal team, which is also litigating a separate lawsuit challenging legislation that would block the company from operating in the U.S. entirely.
CYRUS DIVORCE SETTLED – Billy Ray Cyrus and wife Firerose (born Johanna Hodges) have reached a settlement to end their contentious divorce case, ending weeks of hyperbolic accusations of abuse and wrongdoing from both sides. In a statement, Cyrus said he was “relieved” and called the short-lived marriage an “insane scam.” A source close to Firerose countered with a statement that said she had settled for no money and wanted her husband’s “smear campaign” to end.
KEHLANI CULT CLAIMS – Kehlani’s ex-partner Javaughn Young-White filed a petition seeking legal and physical custody of their 5-year-old daughter, claiming that singer is involved in a cult. “This cult controls her actions and her behavior, including when it comes to the upbringing of our daughter,” Young-White’s lawyers wrote.
