{"id":2157,"date":"2024-08-06T16:42:26","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T16:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/ai-music-war-roc-a-fella-auction-cardi-b-divorce-more-law-news\/"},"modified":"2024-08-06T16:42:26","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T16:42:26","slug":"ai-music-war-roc-a-fella-auction-cardi-b-divorce-more-law-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/ai-music-war-roc-a-fella-auction-cardi-b-divorce-more-law-news\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Music War, Roc-A-Fella Auction, Cardi B Divorce & More Law News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

\n\tThis 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. <\/em><\/p>\n

\n\tThis 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\u2019s Roc-A-Fella Records; Cardi B files for divorce from husband Offset; and much more.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\tTHE BIG STORY: \u201cA Threat to Their Market Share\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tThe first \u201canswer\u201d 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\u2019s about it. The real arguments are usually saved for later filings, like a motion to dismiss the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 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 \u2013 offering extended arguments that attempted to frame the narrative of a multi-billion dollar legal battle that could take years to resolve.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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 \u201cfair use.\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the major record labels really don\u2019t want is competition,\u201d Suno wrote in its filing. \u201cWhere Suno sees musicians, teachers and everyday people using a new tool to create original music, the labels see a threat to their market share.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Go read our full story<\/a><\/strong> on the response filings, with access to the full arguments made by both companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\tOther top stories this week\u2026<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tREASONABLE DOUBT?<\/strong> \u2013 Damon Dash\u2019s one-third stake in Jay-Z\u2019s Roc-A-Fella Records is going up for a court-ordered auction<\/a><\/strong> later this month to help pay off his debts \u2013 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\u2019s not exactly clear what the buyer would be purchasing \u2014 and they shouldn\u2019t expect a normal due diligence process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

JT PLEADS NOT GUILTY<\/strong> \u2013 Justin Timberlake entered a not guilty plea<\/a><\/strong> 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\u2019s attorney reiterated previous statements that Timberlake (who refused to take a breathalyzer) was actually not intoxicated at the time of his arrest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CARDI B DIVORCE <\/strong>\u2013 Cardi B filed for divorce<\/a><\/strong> from Offset after seven years of marriage, a split that her reps said \u201chas been a long time coming and is amicable.\u201d 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 \u201cWAP\u201d star previously filed for divorce in 2020 in Atlanta, but later withdrew the case after the two stars reconciled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DON\u2019T STOP LITIGATIN\u2019 <\/strong>\u2013 The never-ending legal battle between Journey members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon erupted yet again<\/a><\/strong>, with Cain filing a new lawsuit against Schon over claims that his \u201cexorbitant\u201d spending and other problems have led to a \u201cdeadlock\u201d that\u2019s threatening to cripple the band\u2019s touring operations. If you want an idea of how dysfunctional things have gotten between Cain and Schon: \u201cIt 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

NO BOND FOR YOUNG THUG<\/strong> \u2013 Judge Paige Reese Whitaker, the newly-installed replacement judge overseeing Young Thug\u2019s sprawling Atlanta gang trial, denied the rapper\u2019s renewed request to be released from jail, leaving him incarcerated<\/a><\/strong> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FEDERAL AI DEEPFAKES BILL <\/strong>\u2013 A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the NO FAKES Act<\/a><\/strong>, which aims to protect artists and others from deepfakes and AI-powered fake vocals like last year\u2019s 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\u2019s name, image, likeness and voice can be used without consent. \u00a0<\/p>\n

STUBHUB SUED OVER \u2018JUNK FEES\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 StubHub was hit with a lawsuit<\/a><\/strong> from Washington D.C.\u2019s attorney general over allegations that the ticket resale platform foists \u201cconvoluted junk fees\u201d on concertgoers after luring them in with \u201cdeceptively low prices.\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

R. KELLY AT SCOTUS<\/strong> \u2013 The disgraced R&B singer took one of his sex abuse convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court, urging the justices<\/a><\/strong> to overturn his convictions for child pornography and enticement on statute of limitations grounds. The appeal does not deal with Kelly\u2019s other set of convictions on racketeering charges, which remains pending before a lower court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

KISS KISS, BANG BANG<\/strong> \u2013 The 1975 and the band\u2019s frontman Matty Healy were hit with a $2.4 million lawsuit<\/a><\/strong> from the organizers of Malaysia\u2019s Good Vibes Festival \u2013 an event that was shut down last summer after Healy gave a speech criticizing the country\u2019s 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\u2019s contract with the festival, according to the lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SAMPLE SETTLEMENT <\/strong>\u2013 French Montana reached a settlement<\/a><\/strong> to end a lawsuit claiming his 2022 song \u201cBlue Chills\u201d features an unlicensed sample from Skylar Gudasz\u2019s 2020 song \u201cFemme Fatale.\u201d The deal will resolve a case that claimed French\u2019s reps had tentatively agreed to license the clip, but that the rapper released the song without ever actually doing so.\u00a0<\/p>\n

JUICE WRLD ESTATE SUED<\/strong> \u2013 A music producer named Joshua Jaramillo is suing Juice WRLD\u2019s estate<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>over claims that he\u2019s owed royalties from the late rapper\u2019s 2021 hit \u201cGirl of My Dreams.\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ANOTHER TIKTOK CASE <\/strong>\u2013 The Justice Department filed a new lawsuit<\/a><\/strong> against TikTok claiming the social media giant had violated children\u2019s 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\u2019s legal team, which is also litigating a separate lawsuit challenging legislation that would block the company from operating in the U.S. entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CYRUS DIVORCE SETTLED<\/strong> \u2013 Billy Ray Cyrus and wife Firerose (born Johanna Hodges) have reached a settlement to end their contentious divorce case<\/a><\/strong>, ending weeks of hyperbolic accusations of abuse and wrongdoing from both sides. In a statement, Cyrus said he was \u201crelieved\u201d and called the short-lived marriage an \u201cinsane scam.\u201d A source close to Firerose countered with a statement that said she had settled for no money and wanted her husband\u2019s \u201csmear campaign\u201d to end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

KEHLANI CULT CLAIMS<\/strong> \u2013 Kehlani\u2019s 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.<\/a><\/strong> \u201cThis cult controls her actions and her behavior, including when it comes to the upbringing of our daughter,\u201d Young-White\u2019s lawyers wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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