{"id":7139,"date":"2025-07-30T05:59:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T05:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/adam-levine-case-diddy-bail-tyla-water-suit-more-music-law-news\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T05:59:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T05:59:05","slug":"adam-levine-case-diddy-bail-tyla-water-suit-more-music-law-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/adam-levine-case-diddy-bail-tyla-water-suit-more-music-law-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Adam Levine Case, Diddy Bail, Tyla ‘Water’ Suit & More Music Law News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tNO GOOD DEED<\/strong> \u2013 In 2019, when Adam Levine put the call out on Instagram for donations to help victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, it seems he randomly picked a video of the disaster to highlight the damage.<\/p>\n

\n\tTurns out he picked the wrong one. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court, Levine was sued for copyright infringement by a very, very<\/em> litigious company that says it owns the rights to that disaster clip, which was allegedly shot by \u201cprofessional storm chaser\u201d Michael Brandon Clement<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe company, Global Weather Productions LLC, has been on something of a litigation spree in recent years, bringing dozens of such lawsuits against those that allegedly use disaster clips without authorization \u2014 including \u00a0Reuters, Univision, NewsNation and model Molly Sims.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut with an artist like Levine, the lawsuit says the uncleared use of the clip is particularly egregious: \u201cAs a musician and author, defendant has significant experience in copyright matters and is familiar with specific practices including the need to ensure that content used in his posts has been properly licensed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019re reading The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from <\/em>Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday, go subscribe here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\tOther top stories this week\u2026\t<\/h3>\n

\n\tDIDDY WANTS BAIL<\/strong> \u2013 Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs asked a federal judge to release him from jail ahead of his October sentencing date, arguing that prostitution customers, or \u201cjohns,\u201d are essentially never incarcerated like he\u2019s been: \u201cThere has literally never been a case like this one, where a person and his girlfriend arranged for adult men to have consensual sexual relations with the adult long-term girlfriend,\u201d Diddy\u2019s lawyers wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\tCOPYRIGHT CLASH<\/strong> \u2013 Tyla was hit with a copyright lawsuit over her 2023 hit \u201cWater,\u201d filed by two collaborators (Olmo Zucca and Jackson LoMastro) who the South African star (Tyla Seethal) has cheated out of royalties by way of a \u201cnefarious\u201d scheme by a lead producer on the track. The case is a big deal because \u201cWater\u201d was a big deal: The July 2023 track spent 29 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 7, and ultimately won a Grammy Award for best African music performance.<\/p>\n

\n\tBLAME THE VICTIM? <\/strong>GloRilla was arrested in Georgia on charges of felony possession of marijuana \u2014 charges levied against her after she was the victim of a home invasion and police allegedly discovered the drugs while responding. Her lawyer, Drew Findling<\/strong>, quickly denounced her arrest, calling it a \u201cdisturbing window into how warped law enforcement priorities have become\u201d in 2025: \u201cMs. Woods is a victim, not a suspect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMIC TOSS <\/strong>\u2013 Cardi B was hit with an assault lawsuit for throwing a microphone at a fan who splashed the rapper with a drink during a Las Vegas concert in 2023 \u2014 a case that claims the superstar actually asked fans to help her cool off during the hot outdoor concert. The incident, captured in a viral video, was reported to local police, who performed a brief criminal investigation but decided not to file charges.<\/p>\n

\n\tPHOEBE\u2019S REVENGE<\/strong> \u2013 If you sue Phoebe Bridgers, you better be sure you\u2019re right. The \u201cKyoto\u201d singer won another big judgment against Chris Nelson<\/strong>, a recording studio owner who unsuccessfully sued the star for defamation after she accused him of \u201cgrooming\u201d and other abuse on social media. A judge ordered Nelson to pay Bridgers $392,070, a fine that came on top of an earlier an earlier judgment of $496,608.<\/p>\n

\n\tA FIFTH ACCUSER<\/strong> \u2013 Another woman filed a police report against Smokey Robinson, widening the criminal investigation that began when four of the Motown legend\u2019s former housekeepers leveled bombshell rape allegations two months ago. Robinson vehemently denies raping anybody and has described his ex-housekeepers\u2019 claims as a cash grab.<\/p>\n

\n\tMARY HITS BACK <\/strong>\u2013 Mary J. Blige fired back at a lawsuit filed earlier this year by her former stylist Misa Hylton, accusing the longtime friend and her lawyers of \u201cfabricating accusations\u201d to try to win a settlement payout. The case claims Blige \u201csabotaged\u201d Hylton\u2019s management relationship with a rapper, but the star said those claims are so \u201cfrivolous\u201d that the stylist and her lawyer should face sanctions for even filing them in the first place.<\/p>\n

\n\tPOSTY CUSTODY BATTLE <\/strong>\u2013 Post Malone\u2019s ex-girlfriend, Hee Sung \u201cJamie\u201d Park, dropped a court petition that sought to move their three-year-old daughter from Utah to California, a move that came after intense opposition from the singer. According to sources, Park agreed to drop the California case as part of a temporary custody settlement that she and Post amicably agreed upon, although they will continue to litigate final custody arrangements in the Utah court.<\/p>\n

\n\tANTI-FLAG JUDGMENT<\/strong> \u2013 Justin Sane, the former lead singer of defunct political punk band Anti-Flag, was ordered to pay $1.9 million to Kristina Sarhadi, who sued him over accusations of rape. The ruling held Sane (born Justin Geever) liable by default because he failed to respond to the assault and sexual battery lawsuit that Sarhadi filed in 2023.<\/p>\n

\n\tSAMPLING SPAT<\/strong> \u2013 Victory Boyd, a singer who sued Travis Scott, SZA and Future for copyright infringement, filed a new motion disputing that Ye (formerly Kanye West) was a co-writer on the demo that ultimately became the trio\u2019s 2023 hit \u201cTelekinesis.\u201d The new claim came as a response to the superstars\u2019 core defense against Boyd\u2019s lawsuit: That Ye had granted them permission to use the track.<\/p>\n

\n\tCOMEDY LITIGATION<\/strong> \u2013 Pandora isn\u2019t required to fork over extra royalties for streaming comedy routines by Robin Williams, Lewis Black and others, according to a new report released as part of a closely-watched lawsuit over how comedians are paid by digital platforms. The report says the comedians gave Pandora an \u201cimplied license\u201d to the spoken-word material in their sets \u2014 the jokes themselves \u2014 by allowing the company to stream sound recordings of their comedy shows for years without protest.<\/p>\n

\n\tFRAUD SENTENCE<\/strong> \u2013 Sean Kingston\u2019s mother, Janice Turner, was sentenced by a federal judge to five years in prison and three years on probation after being convicted along with her son of wire fraud over a scheme to steal more than $1 million in high-end cars, jewelry and other luxury goods. Turner had sought a sentence of less than three years, citing health issues and \u201cminimal criminal history.\u201d Kingston himself is set for sentencing next month.<\/p>\n

\n\tNOT AGAIN, TEKASHI <\/strong>\u2013 Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine pleaded guilty to violating his supervised release<\/a> by possessing cocaine and MDMA, his second such breach of a plea deal he struck with prosecutors in 2018 to testify against his former Brooklyn gangmates. The new charges stem from a raid on the rapper\u2019s Miami home in March \u2014 and came just months after Tekashi admitted to violating his supervised release by taking methamphetamine and traveling to Las Vegas. He\u2019ll be sentenced in September.<\/p>\n

\n\tGEFFEN DIVORCE DRAMA<\/strong> \u2013 Music and film mogul David Geffen<\/strong> was hit with a lawsuit from his estranged husband Donovan Michaels over explosive allegations of paid sex, exploitation and abuse during their brief marriage. His lawyers quickly denied any wrongdoing, calling the case a \u201cfalse, pathetic lawsuit\u201d that they would defeat in court.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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