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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: Lady Gaga defeats a lawsuit claiming she owes a $500,000 reward to a woman convicted over the 2021 gunpoint robbery of the star’s French bulldogs; Kanye West faces another lawsuit about allegations of unsafe conditions at his Donda Academy; Diddy makes new racism accusations in an unsealed version of his tequila lawsuit; and much more.
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THE BIG STORY: Lady Gaga Doesn’t Have To Pay Her Dog-Napper
When Jennifer McBride sued Lady Gaga in February, demanding that the star pay out on a $500,000 reward she’d offered for the return of her stolen French bulldogs, McBride left out one very small detail: that she herself had been convicted of a crime over the violent 2021 robbery.
McBride was one of five people charged in connection with the Feb. 2021 gunpoint dog-napping, in which Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot and nearly killed. Though she returned the dogs days after the incident and claimed she’d found them tied to a pole, police later connected McBride to the thieves and she eventually pleaded out to one count of receiving stolen property.
But in a chutzpah-laden civil lawsuit, McBride claimed that Gaga made a binding “unilateral” offer to pay the reward in return for the safe return of the dogs, citing media reports that the offer would be paid with “no questions asked.” McBride said that regardless of her role in the crime, she had simply held up her end of a valid contract.
Gaga’s attorneys begged to differ, arguing last month that it would be absurd to allow McBride to “profit from her participation in a crime” even if she had eventually returned the dogs: “The law does not allow a person to commit a crime and then profit from it,” Gaga’s lawyers wrote.
In a ruling on Monday (July 10), Judge Holly J. Fujie agreed with those arguments, dismissing the case. To find out why, go read our entire story, which contains a link to the judge’s full written ruling.
Other top stories this week…
MORE DONDA ACADEMY ACCUSATIONS – Kanye West was hit with another lawsuit about allegedly unsafe conditions at his Donda Academy, including the bizarre accusation that the school lacked windows because the embattled rapper “did not like glass.” The case came months after a separate case that claimed the rapper fed students only sushi and that he was “afraid of stairs.”
NEW CLAIMS IN DIDDY TEQUILA CASE – An unredacted version of Diddy’s lawsuit against Diageo revealed new details about his allegations that the spirits giant unfairly treated his DeLeon Tequila as a “Black brand.” Among the new accusations was a claim that Diageo developed a watermelon flavor despite Diddy’s protests about the racist history and negative connotations with watermelon in brands aimed at Black consumers.
DABABY DROPPED FROM ‘LEVITATING’ CASE – The rapper was voluntarily dismissed from a copyright lawsuit accusing him and Dua Lipa of ripping off their smash hit “Levitating” from a 1979 song called “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and a 1980 song called “Don Diablo.” The rapper had been named because he was featured on a popular remix of Lipa’s smash hit, which spent more than a year on the Hot 100.
CHALLENGE TO TIKTOK BAN – TikTok and a group of five users asked a federal judge to block Montana from enforcing its first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app from the state, warning that the law is unconstitutional and could cause irreparable harm if allowed to go into effect in January.
ARETHA FRANKLIN ESTATE BATTLE – A jury in Michigan decided that a handwritten document created by singer Aretha Franklin in 2014 and found in her couch after her 2018 death was a valid will, overriding a 2010 will that was discovered around the same time in a locked cabinet.
TikTok and a group of five content creators who are suing the state of Montana over its first-in-the-nation law to ban the video sharing app are now asking a federal judge to block implementation of the law while the case moves through the courts and before it takes effect in January.
The separate requests for preliminary injunctions were filed Wednesday in federal court in Missoula. The cases challenging the law were filed in May and have since been consolidated by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen had the bill drafted over concerns — shared by the FBI and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken — that the app, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, could be used to allow the Chinese government to access information on U.S. citizens or push pro-Beijing misinformation that could influence the public. TikTok has said none of this has ever happened.
The motions for injunctions make the same arguments as the cases against the state — that the ban is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights and that the state has no authority to regulate foreign affairs.
Attorneys on both sides have agreed to a schedule that calls for the state to respond to the motions by mid-August and for the plaintiffs to file their replies by mid-September, court records state.
The company and the Montana content creators argue a preliminary injunction should be granted because the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their challenges to the law and if the ban took effect it would cause irreparable harm by depriving them of the ability to express themselves and communicate with others.
TikTok has safeguards to moderate content and protect minors, and would not share information with China, the company has argued. But critics have pointed to China’s 2017 national intelligence law that compels companies to cooperate with the country’s governments for state intelligence work.
“TikTok users don’t use the app – the app uses them and turns them into a spying apparatus for the Chinese Communist Party,” Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office, said in a statement that also noted recent reporting that TikTok is paying for the lawsuit filed by the content creators. “TikTok’s ‘support’ is bought and paid for – Montanans recognize the threat that the app poses to their privacy and national security.”
More than half of U.S. states, including Montana, and the federal government have banned TikTok from government-owned devices.
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill into law in May, saying Montana was taking “the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.”
As of June 1, Gianforte also prohibited the use of any social media apps tied to foreign adversaries on state equipment and for state businesses. Among the apps he listed are WeChat, whose parent company is headquartered in China; and Telegram Messenger, which was founded in Russia.
TikTok is launching a new “social music streaming service” in Indonesia and Brazil, the company announced Thursday (July 6).
TikTok Music is a premium-only service that users will be able to synch with their existing TikTok accounts in order to listen to, share and download the tracks they discover on TikTok. The service is available starting now in both countries; all new TikTok Music users will be offered a one-month free trial.
TikTok Music will launch with a “full catalogue of music from thousands of labels and artists,” according to a press release. That includes Sony Music, whose catalog hasn’t been available on TikTok’s existing streaming service, Resso, since September. The release adds that Sony’s catalog will become available on Resso again beginning Thursday.
Following Thursday’s launch, Resso — which launched in March 2020 in India and Indonesia before later being made available in Brazil — will cease operating in both Indonesia and Brazil on Sept. 5. Existing Resso users will be invited to transfer their accounts to TikTok Music “with the click of a button,” the release states.
TikTok’s pivot to a subscription-based streamer began in May, when its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, announced that Resso would become a premium-only service.
Among other features, TikTok Music subscribers will have the ability to swipe up and down on the app to explore personalized music recommendations; connect with “like-minded” music fans; sing along to real-time lyrics; co-create collaborative playlists with friends; import their music libraries from external playlists; and search for lyrics to discover songs, according to the press release. The service will include uninterrupted ad-free listening and a download function allowing users to listen to music offline.
“We are pleased to introduce TikTok Music, a new kind of service that combines the power of music discovery on TikTok with a best-in-class streaming service. TikTok Music will make it easy for people in Indonesia and Brazil to save, download and share their favourite viral tracks from TikTok,” said Ole Obermann, global head of music business development at TikTok, in a statement. “We are excited about the opportunities TikTok Music presents for both music fans and artists, and the great potential it has for driving significant value to the music industry.”
For more than a year, ByteDance has been signaling its intention to launch a music streaming service that would compete with Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube. In spring 2022, the company registered the handles @TikTokMusic on both Twitter and Instagram; that May, it also filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a service under the same name. In October, Billboard confirmed that ByteDance was in conversations with all major music rights holders to launch its music streaming service in additional countries in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The launch of TikTok Music is a potential game-changer for the music industry, as rights holders have pressured the company to embrace a subscription model over an ad-supported one. Streaming subscriptions are a primary driver of music industry revenue, with paid subscription streaming revenue surpassing $10 billion in the United States for the first time last year, according to the RIAA. It accounts for 77% of all streaming revenue and nearly two-thirds of total revenue.
TikTok is helping bring Tomorrowland 2023 to the world.
On Wednesday (July 5), the dance mega-festival announced the video-sharing platform as its official content partner for the event, which is taking place over two weekends in Boom, Belgium: July 21-23 and July 28-30.
The partnership will include TikTok LIVE broadcasts of headline performances from the festival’s main stage, along with behind-the-scenes footage and video-on-demand content from artists and other creators. TikTok will stream Tomorrowland content 24 hours a day across both weekends.
Additionally, the partnership encompasses in-app playlists, a search hub and activations designed to make it easier for TikTok users to find content from the festival.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Tomorrowland, one of the world’s biggest and most iconic festivals,” TikTok business development lead of global music content and partnerships Michael Kümmerle said in a statement. “With its legendary line-up and global audience, Tomorrowland is the perfect festival partner for our flourishing community of #ElectronicMusic lovers who congregate on TikTok. As our relationship with the genre deepens, we’re incredibly excited to help grow the festival further by giving our community 24 live streams and a 360-degree experience of Tomorrowland on TikTok.”
Tomorrowland 2023 is set to host more than 600 artists across 14 stages. Performers include Afrojack, Alesso, Armin van Buuren, Black Coffee, the Chainsmokers, Claptone, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Dom Dolla, Don Diablo, Eric Prydz, Hardwell, John Newman, Martin Garrix, Netsky, Nicky Romero, Oliver Heldens, Paul Kalkbrenner, Purple Disco Machine, Robin Schulz, Sebastian Ingrosso, Shaquille O’Neal as DJ Diesel, Steve Angello, Steve Aoki, Tiësto, Timmy Trumpet, Topic and W&W.
The festival is once again set to host 400,000 fans each weekend.
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance launched its own music creation tool called Ripple on Friday (June 30th) for a small group of beta testers in the U.S.
Ripple offers audio recording and editing capabilities as well as a “melody to song” function, which allows users to hum a melody and spits out an instrumental version of it in an assortment of genres. TikTokers could use it to create sounds for their videos.
The beta launch of Ripple makes sense at a time when the music industry is increasingly cognizant of the fact that young listeners are no longer content to sit back and just listen to someone else’s song — they want to add their own twist, or even make one themselves. Ole Obermann, TikTok’s global head of music, told a conference earlier this year that listeners “want to put their fingerprints on the song.”
This is becoming a common sentiment: Surveys show “how much Gen Z wants to actively participate in music,” Tatiana Cirisano, music industry analyst and consultant at Midia Research, told Billboard last year. In March, John Fleckenstein, COO of RCA Records, told Billboard that “Gen Z has an expectation, because they’ve grown up as digital natives, that if you do something, they can iterate or comment on it. That doesn’t end in the comments section of a social media post: It’s now bleeding into the art itself.”
One of the companies that has had a lot of success by making it easy for the masses to make music music is BandLab, a free app which had more than 60 million registered creators pumping out more than 16 million songs a month at the start of the year. Meng Ru Kuok, the company’s CEO, is fond of saying “we think everyone is a creator, including fans.”
Right now, millions of aspiring creators use BandLab or GarageBand or another program to make or manipulate audio, which they might then upload to TikTok as an original sound. But if Ripple becomes popular, TikTok’s massive user-base could produce soundtracks for their videos without ever leaving a ByteDance app.
And ByteDance has already launched another popular app that meshes well with TikTok: CapCut. CapCut “makes it a lot easier for your everyday user to be able to create more polished videos,” Jen Darmafall, director of marketing at ATG Group, told Billboard earlier this year. “You don’t have to have a particular skill set when it comes to editing — there are templates on the platform for you to go and plug in what you want, whether it’s photos or videos or text overlays or transitions. That’s helped it skyrocket.”
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Briana Brown makes her living as a licensed aesthetician and MUA, which is evident in her stunning looks. The Tennessee native also enjoys a robust social media following via her growing presence on TikTok and Instagram, and we’re honored to feature her in our latest Baes & Baddies feature.
Briana Brown hasn’t revealed much about herself online, but she has managed to amass over 45,000 followers on TikTok and over 27,000 followers on Instagram. One thing we truly enjoy about Ms. Brown is that she has tons of personality, which shows in her dances and looks. She’s also known to shout out fashion brands like Fashion Nova.
Brown is also someone coming into her own and embracing her curves, something she recently spoke about on Facebook. As is the case for many women of her physical stature, growing into accepting what nature gave her is a journey, and she is inspiring others out there to own their beauty on terms that fit them.
From Facebook:
I use to be extremely self-conscious of my body, especially as a young girl. Picked on in elementary & middle school bc I was the only girl that was developing quickly. Older men hitting on me, etc. It has taken awhile for me to gain the confidence to walk in this body & I’m finally at a point where I’m starting to love all of me & wear what I think is beautiful despite what others may think. There are struggles at times, but I’m currently in my “eff it” era so if you don’t like it…keep it pushing bc I love me some me!
To stay connected with Briana Brown, we suggest following her TikTok page here. We’ll share images from Instagram in the gallery below.
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Photo: @briana.aileen_b / Instagram
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Y2K gave us everything from bubblegum lip balm and belly chains to TikTok’s latest viral find: a peel off lip stain you can currently snag on Amazon. The viral product not only provides colorful results, but comes in a variety pack featuring six shades — meaning you won’t have to go back and buy more colors.
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See latest videos, charts and news
TikTok user @finalgirl_avery is just one of the many shoppers who have taken to the social media platform to show off the Romantic Bear Lip Tint. In the video, they hold up two pink shades and start applying the darker version like a lip gloss. Once the lip tint has fully dried, they simply peel it off, then complete their makeup look with a nude lip liner topped off with some clear lip gloss.
Other shades included in the variety pack include orange, cherry red, light pink, sexy red and watermelon. If you want a peek at what some of the other shades look like, @daniarribere tried on the cherry red color and gave it a *chef’s kiss.*
Keep scrolling to see the full video.
Both reviewers and TikTok users suggest applying a gloss as a top coat to really help the lip stain shine. You can also use a handheld fan to help the formula dry faster — especially if you’re in a rush.
Amazon
Tattoo Magic Color Lip Stain
$13.75
This peel-off mask-inspired lip stain has captured beauty lover’s eyes for its ability to give your lips a pop of color without breaking the bank. Rather than drop $20 on one tube of luxe lipstick, you can get six shades ranging from pink to cherry red and all for $14. One reviewer even went as far as to say “it’ll be replacing all my lipsticks.”
Before application just make sure your lips are moisturized as one shopper says “you will see more coloring in the cracks of the lips.”
For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best TikTok beauty alternatives, refillable lipsticks and powder foundation.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Strapless bras can feel like a necessary evil when you want to sport sleeveless tops and dresses, but then you’re stuck dealing with it slipping all day or night. While you could go braless, that’s not always an option for everyone — sometimes you need that extra support under a corset top or maybe you prefer a smooth, seamless look. TikTok has come to our rescue with a viral sticky bra that users claim actually works.
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The Gatherall Bra has gone viral on TikTok for its ability to lift and support your chest without having to constantly pull it up. Need further proof? User @itsjenwarnes did their own review of the bra showing how well it holds up throughout an entire day.
The result was they were “never worried it was going to fall off at all, so I do think this is much better than cheaper alternatives.”
Check below to check out the full video and shop the sticky bra — plus some other bestselling options.
Consider this the one strapless bra to have in your arsenal. It comes in four colors to personalize to your liking and sizes A–DD — shop it now from Gatherall, Express and Free People.
Free People
Gatherall Bra
$68
The Gatherall Bra is made from a silicone material for added comfort that’s wireless, backless and washable. When it’s dirty, just wash it with antibacterial soap and hang dry it for longevity. No matter if you’re going out dancing or just need an excuse to sport that new backless top, this sticky bra will have you covered and supported.
Shopbop
Perkies Petals
$25
We’ve tried Perkies Petals ourselves and can’t get over how comfortable and easy to use the design is. It’s made from a silicone material that’s reusable and washable so you can wear them again and again without having to stock up on multiple pairs (though it’s always good to have a backup!).
Amazon
Nippies Nipple Cover
$26.50
Nippies Nipple Covers are not only an Amazon No. 1 bestseller for breast petals, but we’ve also tested them out and can confirm they stay on (even after a night full of dancing). Plus, they gained 4.6 stars on Amazon with close to 24,000 shoppers rating it five-stars. One reviewer even stated they’ll “never wear a bra again” after trying these.
Amazon
Alki’i Sticky Bra
$17.99
Looking for some extra lift? The Alki’i Sticky Bra features a push up design that’ll help provide a more smooth and lifted appearance. Plus, it comes in a pack of two with additional breast petals to customize to your needs. One Amazon five-star reviewer even claimed they were “walking around in the heat all day and sweating like crazy and never once did I have to worry about them coming off!”
For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best varsity jackets, Euphoria fashion and best band T-shirts.
TikTok COO V. Pappas is stepping down to “move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions,” they announced on Thursday (June 22nd) in an email to the company they subsequently shared on Twitter.
“To our amazing community of creators, employees, and people who have made TikTok ‘the last sunny spot on the internet,’ it has been an absolute privilege to serve you all and to be a part of this once in a lifetime journey,” they tweeted.
TikTok’s chief of staff, Adam Presser, will take over operations, according to a staff email from CEO Shou Chew. “He will seek to further develop the voices of TikTok’s vibrant and diverse ecosystem and drive closer cross-divisional strategic planning and collaboration, in an effort to bring to life our mission of inspiring creativity and bringing joy to people by nurturing and supporting creators, users, and partners worldwide,” Chew wrote.
In addition, Zenia Mucha will join the company as chief brand and communications officer. Mucha previously served for two decades at Disney before departing the company in 2021. She “will focus on advancing the strategic vision of our brand and advising key businesses,” Chew explained. “It is essential that we widen the aperture of our marketing and communications functions to further fortify TikTok as a beloved brand and one of the most trusted entertainment platforms in the world,” he added. “With Zenia’s vast expertise and deep experience, we are well positioned to do so effectively.”
Pappas, a former YouTube executive — the company’s first audience development lead, the author of The YouTube Creator Playbook, and the developer of YouTube’s Creator Academy and channel certification program — initially joined TikTok in 2018.
“Five years ago when I was first approached by TikTok, I was incredibly inspired by the product vision to be a new mobile-first video experience that serves as a canvas, bridge and window for everyone,” they wrote in their goodbye letter. “The pitch was to take on a role to transform and grow the product and broaden its appeal through developing diverse communities and content… I took a gamble on what was then a completely unknown company and product.”
Pappas then stepped into the interim global CEO role after Kevin Mayer departed suddenly in 2020.
The days of TikTok being “unknown” are of course long gone; much of the music industry now focuses on the platform to market artists and find new ones to sign.
“Five years later, we have grown to a global team of thousands of people and I believe we have achieved our goal to innovate and define an entirely new experience for people to share, create, and be entertained,” Pappas noted. “Today I stand proud that we deliver a product that resonates with over 1 billion people around the world. TikTok is now a household name.”
According to Pappas’ letter, they will be “taking on an advisory role” during the transition period.
Two U.S. senators are asking TikTok to explain what they called “misleading or inaccurate” responses about how it stores and provides access to U.S. user data after recent news reports raised questions about how the Chinese-owned social media platform handles some sensitive information.
In a letter sent Tuesday to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn cited a report from Forbes that said TikTok had stored financial information of U.S. content creators who get paid by the company — including their Social Security numbers and tax IDs — on China-based servers.
The senators also cited another report from The New York Times, published in late May, that said TikTok employees regularly shared user information, such as driver’s licenses information of some American users, on an internal messaging app called Lark that employees from TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, could easily access.
Forbes first reported Wednesday on the letter.
TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said, ”We are reviewing the letter. We remain confident in the accuracy of our testimony and responses to Congress.”
TikTok has said servers that contain U.S. user data have been physically stored in Virginia and Singapore, where its headquartered. But who can access that data — and from where — is an ongoing question.
Chew, the company’s CEO, said at a congressional hearing in March that access to the data was provided “as-required” to engineers globally for business purposes. He also said some ByteDance employees still maintained access to some U.S. user data, but that would end once Project Texas — the company’s plan to siphon off U.S. user data from China — was completed.
The popular social media app has been under scrutiny from Western governments, who’ve been wary of the company’s Chinese ownership and have prohibited its use on government-issued devices. Earlier this year, the Biden administration threatened to ban the platform nationwide if the company’s Chinese owners don’t sell their stakes.
To assuage concerns from U.S. lawmakers, TikTok has been touting its Project Texas plan to store U.S. user data on servers owned and maintained by the software giant Oracle. Last year, the company said it began directing all U.S. user traffic to those servers but also continued to back up data on its own servers.
Chew said the company began deleting all historic U.S. user data from non-Oracle servers in March, and the process is expected to be completed this year.
In their letter, the senators also said the recent news reports appear to contradict testimonies from another TikTok official about where U.S. user data is stored.