This is The Legal Beat, a weekly music law newsletter from Billboard Proand gives you a central cheat sheet of important new cases, important verdicts, and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: A deep dive into whether the lawyers who play a key role in the music industry are too busy; a look back at the litigation backstory for Taylor Swift’s new general counsel; a new development in the long-dormant murder investigation into Tupac Shakur; and much more.
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THE BIG STORY: Music advocates have too much to do
Are music lawyers taking on more work than they can handle? That’s a question my colleague Elias Leight tried to answer in a great feature last week billboard — and one that elicits vastly different answers depending on who you ask.
For many customers these days, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. “Seems like it’s standard with all these lawyers [to] “Sign a million things you can’t possibly time in time,” an artist manager said in an Instagram post from fellow manager Dylan Bourne last month. Bourne’s post sparked a flurry of messages from others, who quietly harbored similar frustrations, at lengthy delays and prolonged silences from their attorneys.
Jason Berger, a partner at BigLaw law firm Lewis Brisbois, was among those who reached out to Bourne after the post. “He’s right,” said Berger. “Some lawyers abuse this position because of the money you can make in such a unique environment.” But others dismiss that premise, saying it’s just an expression of the hectic pace of today’s music business: “Lawyers don’t just say, ‘We’re going to cash these checks and screw our clients because we don’t care,'” said Zach Bohlender, a former music attorney. “We feel this stress. It’s really tough mentally.”
For the full story — including how the industry is changing and the economic incentives driving the issue, as well as a look at the legal ethics issues it may raise — read the entire article here.
More top stories this week…
NO BINDING FOR YOUNG ONES – An Atlanta judge again refused to release Young Thug from jail while he awaits trial in a full-scale RICO case against suspected gang members and denied him bail for a fourth time over fears of witness intimidation. The decision came six months after a jury selection process began in which not a single juror had yet been selected, leaving it unclear when the full trial will actually begin.
TO SUE OR NOT TO SUE – DJ John Summit made headlines in the dance world last week when he claimed he was changing the name of his record label Off the Grid after being “sued” by a smaller company of the same name. However, as Katie Bain and I quickly learned, the real story turned out to be more complicated…
TAYLOR’S NEW ATTORNEY – After Taylor Swift hired one of her longtime attorneys as her firm’s new general counsel, billboard dealt with the many cases he’s worked on for the superstar – including a bizarre trademark dispute with an “Evermore” theme park and Taylor’s high-profile assault allegations against a radio DJ.
TUPAC CASE REOPENED? Nevada authorities issued a search warrant in connection with the long-unsolved murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, who was killed in a 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Days later, the ransacked home was revealed to be linked to Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a self-proclaimed “gangster” and uncle of Orlando Anderson, one of Shakur’s known rivals who authorities have long blamed for the rapper’s death.
JESSICA versus JESSICA – Jessica Simpson’s company is suing the owner of a small online clothing retailer called Jessica’s Everything Shop, alleging that the woman rejected a settlement that would have allowed both Jessicas to “live and let live” and instead sought a cash settlement.
YNW MELLY MISTRIAL – The murder trial of rapper YNW Melly, who is accused of killing two of his friends five years ago, ended in mistrial on Saturday after a deadlocked jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations. Broward County prosecutors, who sought the death penalty, are expected to retry the case with a new jury at some point in the future.
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