Legal
Cardi B Wins Trial Over Mixtape Cover Art
A federal jury on Friday (Oct. 21) said Cardi B was not legally liable in a lawsuit filed by a California man whose back tattoos were unwittingly photoshopped onto an album cover, making it look like — he claimed — he was the one performing oral sex on her, according to Law360. The verdict allows the superstar to avoid millions of dollars in requested damages. Following a four-day trial, the jurors said that Cardi (real name Belcalis Almánzar) did not violate Kevin Brophy’s rights with the bawdy cover of her 2016 mixtape Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1, which accidentally featured a large image of Brophy’s back tattoo. The actual man in the image was a model who had consented to the shoot, but a giant tattoo on the man’s back belonged to Brophy. Unbeknownst to Cardi, a freelance graphic designe...
The Legal Beat: Cardi B’s Bizarre Trial – Plus Gunna, Ed Sheeran & More
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly column 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: Cardi B goes to trial in a weird case over a bawdy album cover, Gunna is again refused bond in Atlanta, Ed Sheeran warns that a copyright ruling might “strangle” future songwriters and much more. THE BIG STORY: Cardi Heads to Trial Over Bawdy Album Cover In one of the weirder cases you’ll ever hear about, Cardi B is headed to a federal courthouse today to defend against claims that the cover of her debut mixtape “humiliated” a man named Kevin Brophy, who alleges he was unwittingly photoshopped into the artwork to make it look like he was performing oral sex on the now-superstar. Yes, you read that r...
Why Jann Wenner Doesn’t Think Springsteen’s Lawyer Is Rock Hall Worthy
An inductee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is protesting one of the Hall’s upcoming inductions. Complicating matters is that the protest comes from Jann S. Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone and a co-founder and former chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, who was himself inducted into the institution as a non-performer in 2004, when he was a recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Wenner says that entertainment attorney Allen Grubman, who is also a founding board member and set to receive the Ertegun award next month, does not meet the Hall’s criteria for the honor. “Allen Grubman has made no contribution of any kind, by any definition, to the creative development or the history of rock & roll,” says Wenner. “He has been chosen because of his clout as entertain...
Tsu Surf Facing Federal Racketeering Charges
Battle rapper Tsu Surf is facing federal drug trafficking charges and other related counts following his arrest this week at a home in northern New Jersey. The rapper, whose real name is Rahjon Cox, made his initial court appearance Friday (Oct. 14) but did not enter a plea. WNYW-TV in New York reported that Cox told the judge he had hired an attorney to represent him but the lawyer could not make the hearing, so the judge allowed another lawyer to fill in on Friday. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Cox is among 10 people who were recently indicted on racketeering charges. They are allegedly members of a New Jersey-based Crips gang set known as the Silverbacc Gorillas or “SBG”. U.S. marshals arrested the rapper Thursday afternoon at a ho...
Rex Orange County Charged With 6 Counts of Sexual Assault in the U.K.
British singer-songwriter Rex Orange County has been charged with six counts of sexual assault in his native U.K., Billboard has confirmed. The charges stem from an accusation that the artist (born Alexander O’Connor) twice assaulted a woman in the West End on June 1. That was allegedly followed by four additional assaults against the same woman the following day: once in a taxi and three more times at his home in London’s Notting Hill district. On Monday (Oct. 10), O’Connor denied all counts during an appearance at Southwark Crown Court in London. He has been set free on unconditional bail ahead of a provisional trial date on Jan. 3. The news was first reported by The Sun. “Alex is shocked by the allegations which he denies and looks forward to clearing his name in court,” said a represen...
Kim Kardashian Paying $1.26M to SEC Over Crypto Promotion
Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that she promoted a cryptocurrency on Instagram without disclosing she’d been paid $250,000 to do so. The SEC said Monday that the reality TV star and entrepreneur has agreed to cooperate with its ongoing investigation. The SEC said Kardashian failed to disclose that she was paid to publish a post on her Instagram account about EMAX tokens, a crypto asset security being offered by EthereumMax. Kardashian’s post contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens. “The federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of ...
Ed Sheeran Must Face Trial Over Accusation That He Copied Marvin Gaye Song
A federal judge says Ed Sheeran must face a jury trial over whether he stole key pieces of his “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye‘s iconic “Let’s Get It On,” rejecting the British singer-songwriter’s efforts to toss out the long-running copyright case. Sheeran’s attorneys argued that the lawsuit – filed by an entity that owns a partial stake in Gaye’s famous 1973 song – was invalid because the combination of simple elements the singer allegedly stole was not unique enough to be covered by a copyright in the first place. But in a ruling on Thursday, Judge Louis Stanton said there was “no bright-line rule” for deciding such questions and that the pop star would need to make his arguments before a jury of his peers. The decision sets the stage for a blockbuster trial at a Manhattan federal ...
Timbaland & Swizz Beatz Settle ‘Verzuz’ Lawsuit With Triller
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz have settled their $28 million lawsuit against Triller for allegedly failing to pay money owed from the sale of their popular Verzuz livestream series. “VERZUZ has always been a platform that is by the artists, for the artists and with the people,” said Swizz Beatz and Timbaland in a statement. “We’re glad to come to an amicable agreement with Triller and continue giving fans the music and community that they’ve come to know and love from the brand.” Triller, a TikTok-like app that allows users to create and share short videos, announced in March 2021 that it would pay an undisclosed sum in cash and equity to acquire Verzuz, the pandemic-era hit in which two artists square off in a livestreamed music battle. Under the terms of the original deal, the Grammy-w...
Mystikal Pleads Not Guilty to Rape & Drug Charges
Grammy-nominated rapper Mystikal pleaded not guilty on Monday (Sept. 19) to charges accusing him of raping and choking a woman at his home in Louisiana and of possessing several drugs. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The 51-year-old performer whose given name is Michael Tyler is innocent of all charges, attorney Joel Pearce said after the arraignment in Ascension Parish court in Gonzales, about 15 miles from Baton Rouge. The charges include first-degree rape, which carries an automatic life sentence. Pearce said he has not been able to get copies of the two indictments, but they were read aloud in court. Charges also include simple criminal damage to property, false imprisonment, domestic abuse battery by strangulation, simple...
Cinq Sues Create Music Group for ‘Falsely Claiming’ Copyright Infringement
Record label and distributor Cinq Music Group sued Create Music Group on Monday, accusing the company of preventing it from monetizing Swell’s 2016 song “I’m Sorry” on YouTube. Cinq’s complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, asks for “no less than $200,000” in damages, claiming intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic relations, and negligent interference with prospective economic relations. Billboard previously reported that more than 10 sources — including artist managers, lawyers and executives at other royalty collection companies — said they know of times when Create has claimed YouTube publishing royalties it has no right to receive. Create vehemently denied the allegations. Cinq’s lawsuit, in contrast, invol...
The Legal Beat: Miley Sued Over Instagram Post – Plus Taylor Swift, Eminem & More
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: Miley Cyrus becomes the latest celebrity sued over an Instagram image of themselves, Taylor Swift faces a setback in the “Shake It Off” copyright case, Spotify and Kobalt spar over Eminem’s music, and much more. THE BIG STORY: Miley Cyrus Sued For Posting … Herself? Another week, another lawsuit against a music star who posted an Instagram photo of themselves. Three months after Dua Lipa was sued for copyright infringement for allegedly posting a paparazzi photo of herself, the exact same photographer sued Miley Cyrus for allegedly doing the same thing. As with Lipa, Robert Barbera says Cyrus’s ...
Why Can Miley Cyrus Be Sued for Posting a Photo of Herself to Instagram?
Stars like Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa keep getting sued for posting paparazzi pictures of themselves to social media. That might seem unfair, but the law just isn’t on their side. Cyrus became the latest celebrity to face such accusations on Friday when photographer Robert Barbera filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the star, claiming she reposted his 2020 photo that showed her waving to onlookers to Instagram without a license. If that sounds familiar, it should: the same photographer filed a very similar lawsuit against Dua Lipa in June, similarly accusing her of violating his copyrights by posting one of his photos to social media. This doesn’t seem fair. Why can he sue celebrities over images of themselves? For celebrities who are hounded by paparazzi, it may seem only fair th...
