Legal and Management
Britney Spears’ Capacity Called Into Question as Lawyer Defends Lack of Direct Testimony
Still, accusations that Jamie was effectively holding the singer legally hostage continued to gain traction with fans this summer after Ingham, in an Aug. 17 filing, indicated Britney no longer wanted her father to be the sole conservator of her estate and was “strongly opposed” to him being reinstated as the conservator of her person. Ingham described Britney’s conservatorship as having three phases. During the first “triage” phase, “her conservators rescued her from a collapse, exploitation by predatory individuals and financial ruin.” Next came the time when she was actively performing again and “with the aid of a personal manager, a business manager and many other individuals, BRITNEY was able to regain her position as a world-class enter...
Sony Music Suing Musicians for Allowing Attorney to Use Album Artwork
Sony wishes to sue Lyon and Collins for selling unauthorized, “pirate” versions of their own albums on websites. Last week, UMG made a similar move, countersuing musicians including Joe Ely and Syd Straw for distributing their own music in an unauthorized way. But that’s not all! Most spectacularly, Sony aims to hold the musicians liable for secondary copyright infringement because the musicians’ attorney, Evan Cohen, is apparently using album artwork to recruit other clients. As a letter to the judge puts it, “[B]oth Lyon and Collins appear to have authorized their attorney, Evan Cohen, to distribute and display SME’s copyrighted album artwork on Mr. Cohen’s website, so that Mr. Cohen can advertise his business centered on preparing termination notices.” Here’...
Executive of the Week: Nonstop Management Founder/President Jaime Zeluck Hindlin
How does a typical writing credit for one of your songwriters come to fruition? Jaime Zeluck Hindlin: It’s different for everyone, to be honest. No story is the same. For writers, it’s all about the people they meet, whether it’s another writer, an artist, or an A&R that believes in them and their song and helps bring it to life. It’s about finding the champions who believe in what they’re doing. For example, with our writer Ryann, we had been setting up sessions for her with newer artists since she was a young, new writer with not too many credits just yet. We paired her with Tate McRae, who was also not as known at the time, and they wrote Tate’s breakout single “you broke me first.” Connecting those dots and people resulted in a song that is ...
The Doobie Brothers Tell Bill Murray to Pay Up
Often, the legal threats come hot and heavy. But that’s not what happens when Bill Murray uses, without license, the Doobie Brothers‘ “Listen to the Music” for an advertisement for his golf shirts, and the band must react. Here, the group’s attorney Peter Paterno attempts to lightly scold Murray for using the 1972 hit, written by Tom Johnston. He writes, “It seems like the only person who uses our clients’ music without permission more than you do is Donald Trump… We’d almost be OK with it if the shirts weren’t so damn ugly.” Ouch! Murray’s camp hasn’t responded yet. Here’s the rest of the letter… This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you ...
California Graphic Artist Claims He, Not Kurt Cobain, Created Nirvana’s Smiley Face Logo
In the latest twist in Nirvana’s two-year-old copyright and trademark battle with designer Marc Jacobs over the use of the band’s smiley face design, a California graphic artist has stepped forward to say that he created the band’s logo and not Kurt Cobain. Robert Fisher, a freelance graphic designer based in Woodland Hills, filed a motion Sept. 13 to intervene in the ongoing federal litigation in the U.S. California Central District claiming to be the rightful creator and owner of the copyright design. Nirvana LLC has been in litigation with Jacobs since 2018, when they sued the designer for copyright infringement and trademark infringement alleging that he had used that Happy face design as part of his “Bootleg Redux Grunge” line without their permission. The band’s legal papers state Co...
A Supreme Court Without RBG May Impact Hollywood’s Grip on Intellectual Property
When Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday at the age of 87, the country lost a true champion of equality. The story of the “Notorious R.B.G.,” the Supreme Court’s second female justice, has been told repeatedly in media, books, and films including RBG and On the Basis of Sex. From being an architect of the women’s rights movement in the 1970s to spending her later years on the high court fighting for the rights of the less advantaged (see for example her concurring opinion just months ago in Comcast v. NAAAOM), her lifetime of service will deservedly be lionized. But there was a less noticed aspect of Ginsburg — and her untimely loss will influence the course of industry. On Oct. 7, the U.S. Supreme Court holds an oral argument in Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc., th...
Kaskade Loses Bid to Thwart Financial Subpoena in KAOS Nightclub Lawsuit
A U.S. magistrate judge has rebuked an effort by Kaskade to withhold information on concerts the DJ played in the wake of the closure of the KAOS nightclub is Las Vegas and ordered the performer to pay the hotel’s attorneys’ fees for the cost of enforcing a subpoena. Ryan Raddon, who performs as Kaskade, is suing F.P. Holdings, a limited partnership connected to the Palms Casino Resort, for breach of contract over his residency deal at the KAOS nightclub, which closed in November after six months of operation. KAOS was supposed to anchor a $690 million renovation of the Palms and host a residency by global superstar Marshmello, but the club lost nearly $50 million, according to a Nov. 6, 2019, quarterly earnings call, and shut down permanently. Raddon was ma...
Executive Turntable: WMG Names Head of Investor Relations, FUGA Makes Key Leadership Hires
Warner Music Group has hired Kareem Chin as senior vp head of investor relations effective immediately. Chin arrives at WMG from iHeartMedia, where he served in the same role. Chin, whose appointment follows WMG’s recent IPO, will lead the company’s investor relations efforts and work closely with the company’s finance and corporate communications teams. He will also oversee key events, including quarterly earnings calls and attendance at investor conferences. At iHeartMedia, which he joined as it was emerging from bankruptcy, Chin developed and built out the company’s investor relations function as it explored listing options and later made its debut on the Nasdaq exchange. Prior to that, he was vp investor relations at Viacom, a role that followed over a decade in investment banking. Mus...
R. Kelly Attacker Confesses, Singer Requests Release on Bail
An inmate claims he was “forced” to assault Kelly “in hopes of getting spotlight attention and world news notice to shed light on the government corruption.” R. Kelly is asking a judge to release him on bail after he was attacked last week by an inmate. In a motion filed Friday (Sept. 4), Kelly’s attorney Michael I. Leonard says not only did the Bureau of Prisons not protect his client, but also that personnel at the facility actually encouraged the inmate to attack the singer. As proof, Leonard presented to the judge a handwritten motion from inmate Jeremiah Farmer confessing to the attack. In the motion, titled “The Government Made Me Attack R-Kelly,” Farmer said after he told a mental health professional at the facility of his plan to attack Kelly, the person enc...
Live Nation Discrimination Case Moved To Binding Arbitration
The move came after Live Nation produced a 2009 letter in which plaintiff Candace Newman agreed to arbitrate disputes with the company. A furloughed touring executive who sued Live Nation in July for race and gender discrimination and wrongful termination will have her case heard by a third-party arbitrator, according to court records in LA County Superior Court. Candace Newman, 38, who identifies as an African American single mother, filed a lawsuit against the touring giant in July, alleging she was furloughed by the company after complaining about a lack of diversity and alleged race discrimination. Newman was one of more than 2,000 employees affected by job cuts at the company, where she had worked for more than 10 years, including her most recent stint as tour director for North ...
Johnny Depp Seeks Defamation Trial Delay
The novel coronavirus pandemic has shifted release calendars and postponed productions in Hollywood and abroad — and the delay of the latest installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise has created an “irreconcilable conflict” for Johnny Depp. Filming is now expected to extend into early 2021, overlapping with the trial in his defamation suit against Amber Heard. The actor in March 2019 sued his ex-wife for defamation over an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post titled “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” Depp isn’t mentioned by name, but in Virginia (where he’s suing and the Post has its printing presses) plaintiffs can pursue claims for defamation by inference, implication or insinuation. O...
ICM Models, Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber & More to Return Fraction of $1.7M Fyre Fest Promo Fees
A dozen of the agency’s models appeared in a video promoting the disastrous event that defrauded attendees and investors. ICM Models and its clients Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, Alessandra Ambrosio, Chanel Iman, Elsa Hosk, Shanina Shaik, Nadine Leopold, Hannah Ferguson, Alyssah Ali, Rose Bertram, Daniela Lopez and Gizele Oliveira have reached a settlement over a combined $1.7 million fee they received for promoting the disastrous Fyre Festival in 2017. In total, they will have to repay $150,000 to a settlement account set up for the festival victims. Baldwin, Bieber, Iman and the other IMG models appeared in bathing suits in a promotional video that announced the festival, promising two “transformative” weekends that “would exceed all expectations.” While the models, along with social...
