This is The Legal Beat, a weekly publication about music legislation from Billboard Pro, providing you a one-stop cheat sheet of massive new instances, necessary rulings and all of the enjoyable stuff in between.
This week: A deep-dive into the messy – and litigious – state of affairs inside the long-lasting 80s rock band Journey; an replace on YNW Melly’s death-penalty case on the Florida Supreme Court; a sudden dismissal of a copyright lawsuit towards Benny Blanco, Ed Sheeran and others; and way more.
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THE BIG STORY: Don’t Stop Litigatin’
If you learn one factor this week, make it Steve Knopper’s lengthy Billboard story in regards to the simmering issues inside Journey — an epic story of inside dysfunction amongst members of an iconic band that’s nonetheless printing cash many years after its “Don’t Stop Believing” heyday.
The story has all of it: dueling safety guards in inexperienced rooms; a multi-million-dollar pay-per-view marriage ceremony; a path of fired managers and staffers; and an absolute all-timer quote: “This is Neal. I am fucking your wife.” But above all else, it has lawsuits — starting from divorce to defamation to mental property to assault.
Sure, there’s the present battle between lead guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain over a disputed American Express card. But there’s additionally the lawsuit filed towards Live Nation over an alleged assault on Schon’s spouse, a case alleging a “coup” by former bandmates Steve Smith and bassist Ross Valory, a trademark dispute with former frontman Steve Perry and way more.
For the total breakdown of the disaster inside Journey, go learn your complete story right here.
Other high tales this week…
DEATH PENALTY DISPUTE – Prosecutors urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject an enchantment by YNW Melly from a ruling final 12 months that stated he might face the dying penalty if convicted at an upcoming homicide trial. The rapper says the state forfeited the suitable to hunt the dying penalty by failing to offer correct discover, however prosecutors say he “suffered no harm.”
MARILYN MANSON UPDATE – Per week after considered one of Marilyn Manson’s sexual assault accusers recanted her allegations, a choose dominated that the sudden reversal couldn’t be used as proof in Manson’s defamation lawsuit towards his ex-fiance Evan Rachel Wood. The transfer got here after Wood’s legal professionals argued the “eleventh hour” revelation was only a “bad-faith” effort to save lots of Manson’s case.
COPYRIGHT CASE CLOSED – Two songwriters who sued Benny Blanco, Halsey, Khalid and Ed Sheeran for copyright infringement over their 2018 hit “Eastside” all of a sudden dropped the lawsuit. The accusers instructed Billboard that they determined that persevering with the case would have been “too costly, challenging, and risky for us”; however Blanco’s lawyer stated the accusations have been “baseless” and “never should have been made” within the first place.
PODCAST POT CLASH – Chris “Kit” Gray, the president and co-founder of PodcastOne, was hit with a lawsuit claiming he fired his government assistant as a result of she refused to ship hashish merchandise from California (the place they’re authorized) to his house in Florida (the place they aren’t).
TRAVIS SCOTT’S NIGHTCLUB SCUFFLE – Police in New York sought to query rapper Travis Scott after he was accused of assaulting a sound engineer and inflicting $12,000 value of harm to sound tools at Manhattan nightclub Nebula. His reps referred to as it “a misunderstanding being blown out of proportion” and pressured that no prices had been filed. Scott is predicted to take a seat for questioning this week.
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