Legal
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T.I. and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris won a stunning $71 million jury verdict Monday in their lawsuit claiming that toymaker MGA stole the design of a line of “O.M.G.” toy dolls from their real-life teen pop group OMG Girlz.
As first reported by Law360, jurors awarded the couple and their companies the huge award after finding that MGA’s dolls infringed both the trade dress and the likeness rights of the OMG Girlz — a defunct musical trio created by Tiny and featuring her daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins.
Following a three-week trial and a day of deliberations, the jurors awarded the rapper and his wife $17.9 million in actual damages and another $53.6 million in punitive damages. Neither side immediately returned requests for comment.
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The legal battle began in 2021, with T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) and Tiny claiming that MGA had committed both “cultural appropriation and outright theft of the intellectual property” by stealing the look of a group of “young multicultural women.”
Their complaint against MGA included side-by-side images, aiming to show how each OMG doll was directly based on a particular member of the OMG Girlz – Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez, and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack.
MGA maintained that it had done nothing wrong — that the dolls were more often branded as L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G., and that consumers would not confuse the toys for the “short-lived” band.
Over three years of litigation, the case already went to trial twice. The first trial, in January 2023, ended in a mistrial after jurors heard inadmissible testimony featuring accusations of racism against MGA. The second trial then ended in a verdict for MGA, with jurors clearing the company of wrongdoing. But that verdict was later overturned on appeal, setting the stage for yet another trial.
On the third try, the outcome swung in favor of T.I. and Tiny. In a livestream on Instagram following the verdict, she said it had been “a hell of a fight” but that “we couldn’t be more happy.”
“We wanted to thank the jurors for just seeing us through this, and just believing in what we said,” she said in the video. “They heard our story and they knew we wasn’t lying. It’s amazing.”
MGA can still appeal the verdict and the damages award, first by asking the judge to set them aside and then by taking the case to a federal appeals court.
Ice Spice has reached an agreement to end a copyright lawsuit over allegations that her recent hit “In Ha Mood” was copied from a Brooklyn rapper’s earlier track.
The case, filed earlier this year by a rapper named D.Chamberz (Duval Chamberlain), claimed that Ice Spice’s song – which spent 16 weeks on the Hot 100 in 2023 – was “strikingly similar” to his own 2021 track “In That Mood.”
But in a motion filed in federal court Friday, attorneys for both sides said they had agreed to resolve the lawsuit. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed in court filings, and neither side immediately returned requests for comment.
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Released early last year following Ice Spice’s 2022 breakout, “In Ha Mood” reached No. 58 on the Hot 100 and No. 18 on the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. It was later included on her debut EP Like..?, and she performed the song during her October appearance as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
In a lawsuit filed in January, D.Chamberz claimed that the two songs share so many similarities that the overlaps “cannot be purely coincidental.” He said the similar elements “go [to] the core of each work,” and are so obvious that they’ve already been spotted by listeners.
“By every method of analysis, ‘In Ha Mood’ is a forgery,” D.Chamberz’s attorneys wrote at the time. “Any proper comparative analysis of the beat, lyrics, hook, rhythmic structure, metrical placement, and narrative context will demonstrate that ‘In Ha Mood’ was copied.”
The lawsuit claimed the earlier song received “significant airplay” on New York City radio stations, including Hot 97 and Power 105.1, giving Ice Spice and others behind her track a chance to hear it.
In addition to naming Ice Spice (Isis Naija Gaston) as a defendant, the lawsuit also names her frequent producer, RiotUSA (Ephrem Lopez, Jr.), as well as Universal Music Group, Capitol Records and 10K Projects.
In April, the defendants formally denied the lawsuit’s allegations, but the case remained in the earliest stages when Friday’s agreement was reached.
Attorneys for Jay-Z are now sparring with lawyers for New York City over whether he can use copyright termination to retake control of his debut album Reasonable Doubt – a crucial question ahead of court-ordered auction of Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash’s one-third stake in the label.
The city’s child services agency, which wants to collect the more than $193,000 that Dash owes in unpaid child support, warned a federal judge in court filings last week that Jay-Z was using “false” threats of an approaching termination to drive down the price of Dash’s stake in his company.
“Jay-Z’s statements to the press have poisoned the environment for the auction,” wrote Gerald Singleton, an attorney for the city. “Those statements are false and extremely damaging to the City’s interests in ensuring that the auction will generate sufficient funds to satisfy all existing child support arrearages and secure future child support payments.”
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But on Monday, longtime Jay-Z lawyer Alex Spiro fired right back on behalf of Roc-A-Fella, saying neither the rapper nor his company had issued any such statements and that there was “no merit to NYC’s accusations.” But he also confirmed that Jay-Z was in fact seeking to use termination to take back the album, Reasonable Doubt, in 2031 – and that prospective buyers could make up their own minds about what that means.
“Potential bidders have every right to assess whether they believe the notice of termination would be effective in 2031,” Spiro told the judge.
As early as next month, the U.S. Marshals Service will sell off Dash’s 33.3% interest in Roc-A-Fella Inc., an entity whose only real asset is the sound recording copyright to Reasonable Doubt. Though the court-ordered auction was originally intended to pay off an $823,000 judgment in a civil lawsuit, New York City jumped into the case over Dash’s child support debt. The state of New York later did the same, claiming Dash owes more than $8.7 million in back taxes and penalties.
The owners of the other two-thirds of Roc-A-Fella — label co-founders Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) and Kareem “Biggs” Burke — have already attempted to stop the auction, including making changes to the company’s bylaws and intervening in the lawsuit. But a federal judge rejected such opposition in February, and the sale could take place as early as Oct. 21.
As the auction approaches, a minimum purchase price has been set at $3 million. But it has remained unclear what exactly a potential winner would be buying.
Streaming and other royalties from Reasonable Doubt would likely provide a buyer with a revenue stream; since its 1996 release, the album has racked up 2.2 million equivalent album units in the U.S., according to Luminate, including 21,500 units so far this year. But the eventual buyer also would be a minority owner in a company controlled by hostile partners, with little ability to perform typical due diligence on the asset they’re about to purchase.
Another key question mark for buyers – and the source of this week’s dispute with NYC – is just how long Roc-A-Fella will continue to own its only real asset.
The termination right, a provision created by congress in the 1970s, empowers authors to reclaim ownership of copyrighted works decades after selling them away. If Jay is eligible for it, termination would allow him to win back the rights to his sound recording of Reasonable Doubt roughly 35 years after he released the album, meaning 2031.
But in their court filing on Friday, attorneys for New York City child services said Jay-Z was not, in fact, eligible for termination. They argued that he had created the album as so-called “work for hire” under a written contract with Roc-A-Fella – meaning the company had always been the legal owner of the copyright, and there were no rights to Jay to take back in the first place.
“He has claimed that he has a termination right under the Copyright Act and that the rights to Reasonable Doubt will revert to him in six years,” wrote Singleton, the NYC attorney. “In fact, he has no such termination right and RAF is entitled to the renewal term [and] will own the copyright rights until the year 2098.”
To address the problem, the city asked the judge to issue a definitive ruling on whether Jay-Z is eligible for termination – and to postpone the auction until he does so.
But in his response Monday, Spiro argued that the city “has no right to seek such a ruling.” He said the demand was premature, since Jay-Z will not formally take back the album until 2031, and that a city agency had no legal standing to raise such questions in court.
“Put simply, this is not the appropriate time, forum, or case to litigate any issues relating to Jay-Z’s notice of termination,” Spiro wrote. “This Court should therefore reject NYC’s request for an impermissible advisory opinion as to the effectiveness of Jay-Z’s notice of termination.”
Michael Jackson’s estate has filed a legal action against a man who it claims has threatened to resurface ugly abuse allegations ahead of the upcoming release of a biopic about the King of Pop, according to multiple media reports.
As detailed by both the Washington Informer and the Financial Times on Friday, Jackson’s estate has filed a private arbitration case against the unnamed accuser, claiming his alleged threats violate an earlier, never-before-reported settlement over the abuse accusations.
In the arbitration case, the estate reportedly alleges that the earlier settlement — struck in 2020 — saw the accuser paid $3.3 million in return for signing a non-disclosure agreement. But the estate reportedly claims he’s now threatening to breach the agreement if he’s not paid another $213 million.
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In an interview with the Informer, estate executor John Branca reportedly said: “The associate’s lawyer even said to us, ‘If you don’t meet our demands, we’re going to have to share these allegations with a wider group of people.’ It was a shakedown. Enough is enough.”
The name of Jackson’s accuser and the details of his supposed allegations were not disclosed in media reports. It’s unclear when the arbitration case was filed, or what exactly it alleges. The Jackson estate would not confirm the accuracy of the reports and declined to comment on the matter.
The article from the Financial Times reported that the Jackson estate had also referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. A spokesman for that office did not immediately return a request for comment from Billboard.
The threats to go public come as the Jackson estate prepares for the premiere of Michael, a movie about the singer’s life starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson in the titular role. The biopic, directed by Antoine Fuqua, is set for release in April 2025.
Jackson, who died suddenly in 2009, was never convicted or held legally liable on any accusation of child molestation, but is still dogged by such allegations. Two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, continue to claim Jackson sexually abused them as children, spending the last decade pursuing civil lawsuits. And their allegations were amplified in 2019 by HBO docuseries Leaving Neverland, which laid out their claims in disturbing detail.
The Jackson estate has always vehemently denied all such claims, pointing out that the singer was acquitted in a 2005 criminal trial and arguing that his accusers are simply seeking monetary gain from an artist who cannot defend himself because defamation law does not extend to dead individuals.
Shortly before Leaving Neverland aired, the estate sued HBO over the series, claiming that “Michael Jackson is innocent. Period.” The case claimed the network had breached a decades-old contract that it signed to air a Jackson concert back in 1992, which included a provision banning HBO from making “any disparaging remarks” about the singer.
That lawsuit was eventually sent to private arbitration in 2019, where it remains pending. The status of such arbitration cases, similar to the one reported on Friday, are intentionally kept more private than traditional litigation and are difficult to ascertain from public records.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been placed on a suicide watch as he awaits trial in federal custody on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, NBC News and People reported on Friday (Sept. 20). The move is “procedural with high-profile clients,” the insider told NBC News. Sources also told People that the move was a preventative measure. […]
Decades after Nelly released his chart-topping breakout Country Grammar, he’s facing a new lawsuit over the album from his St. Lunatics groupmates – who claim that the star cut them out of the credits and the royalty payments.
In a complaint filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, attorneys for the St. Lunatics allege that Nelly (Cornell Haynes) repeatedly “manipulated” them into falsely thinking they’d be paid for their work on the 2000 album, which spent five weeks atop the Billboard 200.
“Every time plaintiffs confronted defendant Haynes [he] would assure them as ‘friends’ he would never prevent them from receiving the financial success they were entitled to,” the lawsuit reads. “Unfortunately, plaintiffs, reasonably believing that their friend and former band member would never steal credit for writing the original compositions, did not initially pursue any legal remedies.”
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The case was filed by St. Lunatics members Ali (Ali Jones), Murphy Lee (Tohri Harper), Kyjuan (Robert Kyjuan) and City Spud (Lavell Webb). Slo Down (Corey Edwards), another former member of the group, is not named as a plaintiff.
A spokesperson for Nelly did not immediately return a request for comment.
A group of high school friends from St. Louis, the St. Lunatics rose to prominence in the late 1990s with “Gimme What U Got”, and their debut album Free City – released a year after Country Grammar – was a hit of its own, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
The various members of the group are repeatedly listed as co-writers in the public credits for numerous songs on Country Grammar, most notably with City Spud credited as a co-writer and co-performer on the single “Ride Wit Me,” which spent 29 weeks on the Hot 100.
In the new lawsuit, the group members say they were involved with more songs than they were credited for, including “Steal the Show,” “Thicky Thick Girl,” “Batter Up,” and “Wrap Sumden.” The most notable is the title track “Country Grammar,” which reached No. 7 on the singles chart; in public databases, the song only credits Nelly and producer Jason Epperson.
The groupmates say that during and after the Country Grammar recording session, Nelly “privately and publicly acknowledged that plaintiffs were the lyric writers” and “promised to ensure that plaintiffs received writing and publishing credit.” But decades later, in 2020, the St. Lunatics members say they “discovered that defendant Haynes had been lying to them the entire time.”
“Despite repeatedly promising plaintiffs that they would receive full recognition and credit… it eventually became clear that defendant Haynes had no intention of providing the plaintiffs with any such credit or recognition,” the group’s attorneys write.
When the group members realized Nelly had “failed to provide proper credit and publishing income,” they say they hired an attorney who reached out to Universal Music Publishing Group. The letter was relayed to Nelly’s attorneys, who they say “expressly repudiated” their claims to credit in 2021.
“Plaintiffs had no alternative but to commence legal proceedings against Defendants,” the lawsuit reads.
The case could face an important procedural hurdle. Although copyright infringement lawsuits can be filed decades after an infringing song is released, disputes over copyright ownership face a stricter three-year statute of limitations.
The current lawsuit is styled as an infringement case, with the St. Lunatics alleging that Nelly has unfairly used their songs without permission. But the first argument from Nelly’s attorneys will likely be that the case is really a dispute over ownership – and thus was filed years too late.
An attorney for the plaintiffs did not immediately return a request for comment.
Sean “Diddy” Combs was once again refused bail Wednesday (Sept. 18) in his sex abuse case, after a federal judge ruled that the indicted rapper and music executive would pose a flight risk and might intimidate witnesses if released, the AP reports.
At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, Combs’ lawyers renewed their request to let him await trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges under house arrest at his Miami mansion, once again offering to pay a $50 million bond and submit to other strict requirements.
But just like a magistrate judge had ruled a day earlier, Judge Andrew L. Carter said Tuesday that Diddy must instead wait for the trial in a Brooklyn federal prison, citing concerns that the once-powerful executive could pose a danger to others or obstruct the government’s case.
Combs, also known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, was once one of the most powerful men in the music industry. But on Tuesday he was indicted by federal prosecutors over accusations of sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery. If convicted on all the charges, he potentially faces a sentence of life in prison.
In Tuesday’s indictment, prosecutors accused Combs of running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at satisfying his need for “sexual gratification.” The charges detailed “freak offs” in which Combs and others would allegedly ply victims with drugs and then coerce them into having sex with male sex workers, as well as alleged acts of violence and intimidation to keep victims silent.
“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” prosecutors wrote in the indictment. “To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and the influence of his multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.”
At his initial arraignment on Tuesday, Combs’ lawyers made their arguments to Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky, who ultimately denied Diddy’s request for bail. She cited, among other things, her “very significant concerns” about Combs’ substance abuse and “what appears to be anger issues,” according to the Associated Press.
A day later, the rapper’s lawyers exercised their right to renew their request for bail to Judge Carter, the full federal district judge who will be overseeing the case and the eventual jury trial.
Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Combs’ lawyers filed an updated “package” of bail restrictions that they said would mitigate any concerns raised by prosecutors. In addition to the $50 million bond and house arrest, they promised to submit to GPS monitoring, travel restrictions, weekly drug testing and constant monitoring of visitors. Given the nature of the allegations, they also offered to “restrict female visitors to Mr. Combs’ residence except for family, or mothers of his children.”
But the judge was once again swayed by prosecutors, who repeated their warnings that Combs was a “serial abuser” who had a history of both violence and witness intimidation, raising the prospect that he might attempt to obstruct the case against him.
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Madison Square Garden executive James Dolan of pressuring a masseuse into unwanted sex while his band toured with the Eagles, though elements of the case will likely continue in state court.
Kellye Croft sued Dolan earlier this year, claiming he repeatedly coerced her into “unlawful and unwelcome sex acts” during the 2013 tour. The lawsuit also included assault allegations against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, claiming Dolan facilitated the incident with the convicted rapist.
But in a ruling Tuesday, Judge Percy Anderson permanently dismissed Croft’s only federal allegation — a claim that Dolan had violated federal sex trafficking laws. The judge said Croft had failed to meet the basic requirements to sue under the statute.
The case also includes separate state-law accusations, including claims of sexual battery and aiding and abetting of sexual assault against Dolan and a claim of sexual assault against Weinstein. But without any federal claims remaining, Anderson ruled Tuesday that he no longer had jurisdiction to hear the case.
The decision means that the current case in federal court is over, but that Croft can re-file her other allegations in New York state court. In a statement Wednesday, her attorneys vowed to do so, saying that their “fight for Ms. Croft is just beginning.”
“We respectfully disagree with the district court’s decision, which we believe incorrectly interprets the federal sex trafficking law and undermines critically important protections for sex trafficking survivors,” said Kevin Mintzer and Meredith Firetog of the law firm Wigdor, adding that they would appeal that decision. “We will also continue to pursue Ms. Croft’s sexual battery claims against James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein, which remain unaffected by the decision.”
In his own statement, a spokesperson for Dolan said, “We are very pleased with the dismissal of the lawsuit, which was a malicious attempt to assert horrific allegations by an attorney who subverts the legal system for personal gain.”
Croft sued in January, claiming she had been hired to serve as a massage therapist for Glenn Frey during the 2013 tour, on which Dolan’s band (JD & The Straight Shot) opened for Eagles. She says she thought the job was the “opportunity of a lifetime,” but that she quickly realized the real reason she was there: “Dolan was extremely assertive, and pressured Ms. Croft into unwanted sexual intercourse.”
Dolan, whose company also owns Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall, the Las Vegas Sphere and other prominent music venues, has strongly denied the allegations, calling Croft an “opportunist” who is “looking for a quick payday.”
One key legal allegation in the lawsuit was that Dolan and others violated a federal sex trafficking statute — namely, by fraudulently transporting her across state lines for purposes of providing forced sexual favors to Dolan. That claim was dismissed by Anderson earlier this year, but he then gave Croft one last chance to update her case with a viable argument.
In his ruling Tuesday, he said she had failed to do so. The federal sex trafficking law requires a “commercial sex act,” and the judge said that Croft had failed to allege that her sexual relationship with Dolan was the direct result of his promises of career advancement.
“Plaintiff [claims she] received promises from Dolan that she would be invited on the Eagles’ European tour and could potentially receive work as a massage therapist for tours at Madison Square Garden,” the judge wrote. “While the [lawsuit] alleges that plaintiff may have hoped to obtain a future career benefit from her relationship, it fails to directly allege that she went to Dolan’s room and continued to engage in a sexual relationship with him in order to receive the alleged promised benefits.”
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: Diddy faces a sweeping criminal indictment that accuses him of decades of sexual abuse; Miley Cyrus gets hit with a copyright lawsuit over allegations that her chart-topping “Flowers” infringed a Bruno Mars track; Eddy Grant wins his case against Donald Trump over the use of “Electric Avenue” in a campaign video; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Diddy’s Downfall
Less than a year after news broke about a civil lawsuit containing brutal accusations of sexual abuse against Sean “Diddy” Combs, the other shoe has finally dropped.
The once-powerful rapper was arrested in New York City on Monday night on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges. When prosecutors unsealed the indictment on Tuesday, they detailed allegations of a sprawling criminal operation with a single aim: “fulfilling the personal desires of Combs, particularly those related to sexual gratification.”
“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” the indictment reads. If convicted of the charges, Combs is facing a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.
Later on Tuesday, Combs was arraigned in federal court and denied bail, leaving him in jail until an eventual trial. The judge said Diddy posed a flight risk and was potentially a danger to others, swayed by arguments from prosecutors that he was a “serial abuser” who had a history of both violence and witness intimidation.
In many ways, the charges against Diddy mirror those against R. Kelly, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 over a decades-long scheme to abuse underage women.
Like Kelly, prosecutors are targeting Combs under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal statute that bans criminal enterprises composed of multiple people. While RICO is best known as a tool to fight mobsters and drug cartels, the Kelly case proved that it can be equally effective at targeting a superstar musician who used his fame and money to build what amounts to a criminal organization – only one aimed at facilitating sexual abuse.
And like the Kelly case, the indictment of Combs has led to tough questions about why it took so long for law enforcement to act. When asked directly at Tuesday’s press conference, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams demurred: “I can’t tell you why it took so long. I think the better focus is on the fact that we are here today and we are committed to making sure that justice is done.”
For more on the case, go read our full story on Combs’ indictment, including access to the charging documents and statements from prosecutors, as well as our coverage on the bail hearing. And stay tuned as the case unfolds, because Billboard will be keeping you updated with every development.
THE OTHER BIG STORY: I Can Write My Own Songs?
Nearly two years after fans speculated that Miley Cyrus’ chart-topping “Flowers” was making pointed references to Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” a company that owns part of the Mars song is suing her for copyright infringement. The complaint was filed not by Mars himself but by an entity called Tempo Music Investments that bought a share of the copyright to his song from one of its co-writers. In it, lawyers for that group claim the two songs have “striking similarities.” Whether or not they’re “striking,” the songs have clear connections. In the time-honored tradition of an “answer song,” Cyrus inverted Mars’ lyrics and seemed to repeatedly rebut them – in one instance telling fans “I can buy myself flowers” when Mars said “I should’ve bought you flowers.” The reason for the references? Mars’ song was apparently a favorite of Cyrus’ ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, and the theory goes that her repeated allusions were a reference to their split. At the time, legal experts told Billboard that Cyrus was likely not violating copyrights simply by using similar lyrics to fire back at the earlier song. This week’s lawsuit says the similarities go well beyond the lyrics, including “melodic and harmonic material,” “pitch ending pattern,” and “bass-line structure.” But experts remain skeptical. To understand why, go read our full story, including comments from copyright lawyers and access to the full complaint filed against Cyrus.
Other top stories this week…
‘ELECTRIC’ INFRINGEMENT – A federal judge ruled that Donald Trump infringed copyrights by using Eddy Grant’s iconic “Electric Avenue” in a 2020 campaign video without permission. Trump claimed that he made legal fair use of the song by using it in a video attacking Joe Biden, but the judge called it something else: “wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad.” Up next: A ruling on how much Grant is owed in damages. MORE DIDDY -Tuesday’s indictment overshadowed everything else, but it wasn’t the only Diddy Law story from the past week. The rapper was hit with a new civil lawsuit from Dawn Richard, a winner of MTV’s Making the Band who says he subjected her to years of “abuse and exploitation.” He also moved to set aside a $100 million default judgment won by a Michigan inmate, arguing he was never served with the “frivolous” sexual assault allegations and would have easily defeated them if he had been. DOLAN DEPOSITION – A federal judge ruled that Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan must sit for a deposition over the infamous 2017 ejection of ex-NBA player Charles Oakley from the Manhattan arena, ruling that the CEO “had a courtside seat” for the incident. Defense lawyers argued that Dolan, who also controls the Las Vegas Sphere and Radio City Music Hall, shouldn’t be personally dragged into a deposition, but a judge said the exec “likely possesses relevant knowledge that cannot be obtained from other witnesses.”RATE DEBATE – BMI filed a rate-setting case against SiriusXM in federal court after they failed to reach a deal during more than two years of negotiations, arguing the radio company is “no longer a startup” and must pay more to songwriters. Among other things, BMI pointed to SiriusXM’s increasing reliance on internet streaming rather than old-school satellite radio. “Digital music services pay higher rates to BMI than satellite radio, and the new SiriusXM rate should reflect this expansion of digital performances.”TAYLOR ENDORSEMENT – When Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president, the singer said she was spurred to action by her fears about artificial intelligence — namely, an incident last month in which Donald Trump posted AI-generated images that falsely claimed the superstar’s support. Experts told Billboard at the time that Swift could have sued Trump, but they predicted (accurately, it turns out) that the star would probably just fight Trump’s fakery with a legitimate endorsement of her own.PHARMA FIGHT – Johnson & Johnson was hit with a copyright lawsuit accusing the pharma giant of “rampant infringement” of instrumental music in YouTube and Facebook videos. Associated Production Music (APM) – a joint venture of Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing — claimed J&J released nearly 80 different internet videos featuring unlicensed music from its catalog.
A New York federal judge denied bail to Sean “Diddy” Combs at an arraignment hearing on Tuesday (Sept. 17), leaving the once-powerful rapper and music executive behind bars as he awaits trial on sweeping allegations of sexual abuse.
The charges, unsealed earlier on Tuesday, accuse Combs of running a decades-long racketeering conspiracy that included sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery. If convicted on all the charges, he potentially faces a sentence of life in prison.
At an initial hearing Tuesday in front of a packed Manhattan courtroom, Combs formally pleaded not guilty to each of the three charges he’s facing. His attorneys also requested that he be released on a $50 million bond, saying he’d surrender his passport and submit to constant monitoring.
But according to the Associated Press, Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky ultimately sided with prosecutors, who had warned that the billionaire executive still posed a flight risk and might intimidate witnesses if released. She ruled that Combs attorneys had not overcome the “presumption” that defendants in such serious cases should remain behind bars.
Combs, also known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, was once one of the most powerful men in the music industry. But he’s faced a flood of civil lawsuits in recent months over allegations of sexual abuse, starting with a high-profile case last year from his former longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura. That lawsuit quickly settled, but it was later corroborated by a widely shared video of Combs assaulting Ventura at a hotel.
In Tuesday’s indictment, prosecutors accused Combs of running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at satisfying his need for “sexual gratification.” The charges detailed “freak offs” in which Combs and others would allegedly ply victims with drugs and then coerce them into having sex with male sex workers, as well as alleged acts of violence and intimidation to keep victims silent.
“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” prosecutors wrote in the indictment. “To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and the influence of his multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, both sides submitted detailed arguments to the judge on whether Combs should be detained until his jury trial, which could still be months away.
Combs’ defense lawyers said he was “eminently trustworthy” and had demonstrated “extraordinary” cooperation by flying to New York to allow himself to be arrested on Monday. They offered to post a $50 million bond, submit to house arrest with GPS monitoring, and even to sell his private jet.
“Sean Combs has never evaded, avoided, eluded or run from a challenge in his life,” his lawyers wrote. “He will not start now. As he has handled every hardship, he will meet this case head-on, he will work hard to defend himself, and he will prevail.”
But prosecutors argued back that Combs was a “serial abuser” who had a history of both violence and witness intimidation, raising the prospect that he might attempt to obstruct the case against him. They also said that he still posed a flight risk even under his proposed conditions, citing his “seemingly limitless resources” and the looming threat of a lifetime prison sentence.
“In short, if the defendant wanted to flee, he has the money, manpower, and tools to do so quickly and without detection,” prosecutors wrote. “The defendant’s lack of access to his passport or private jet would not negate the fact that the defendant could easily buy his way out of facing justice.”
Following Tuesday’s hearing before a magistrate judge, Combs is set for an initial pretrial conference next week before Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr., the federal district judge who will oversee the trial.