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Primary Wave Purchases James Brown Catalog, Likeness, and Real Estate In Reportedly $90 Million Deal

December 13, 2021

James Brown in 1997. Over the summer, the 15-year-long legal battle concerning the estate of soul mainstay James Brown drew to a close with a “global settlement.” Now, the “It's A Man's Man's Man's World” cre... Read More...

Mary Bono Moves to Dismiss Cher’s ‘Groundless’ $1 Million Lawsuit

Dylan Smith

December 10, 2021

Mary Bono has moved to dismiss the lawsuit that she's facing from Cher, concerning copyright-termination notices. In October, Cher sued Mary Bono, Sonny Bono’s fourth wife and the trustee of the Bono Collecti... Read More...

Federal Court Delays App Store Rule Changes In Epic Games’ Apple Lawsuit

Dylan Smith

December 9, 2021

Photo Credit: James Yarema Earlier this year, Apple was ordered to make several App Store changes as part of its legal battle with Epic Games. Now, a federal court has granted the Cupertino-headquartered comp... Read More...

YouTube False Copyright Claim Report Reveals 4.4 Million ‘Incorrect’ Claims a Year

Ashley King

December 7, 2021

Photo Credit: Daria Volkova YouTube false copyright claims approached 2.2 million in six months – or nearing 4.4 million annually. A new copyright transparency report published by YouTube reveals the numbers... Read More...

‘ABBA Mania’ Tribute Band Faces Multimillion-Dollar Trademark Infringement Suit Over ‘Parasitic and Bad-Faith Conduct’

Dylan Smith

December 6, 2021

ABBA's members in motion-capture equipment, which was used to create the holograms for ABBA Voyage. Photo Credit: Baillie Walsh Stockholm-headquartered Polar Music International, which owns a number of ABBA t... Read More...

The RIAA (the major labels) and Yout are scheduled to begin settlement talks in May.

Yout Fires Back Against RIAA Motion to Dismiss In Long-Running ‘Rolling Cipher’ Lawsuit

Dylan Smith

December 6, 2021

Back in October of 2020, Yout named the RIAA in an aggressive lawsuit. Now, one dismissal and about 14 months later, the high-stakes courtroom confrontation is raging on, with the Hartford-based stream-ripper... Read More...

Ludwig Ahgren Suspended by YouTube — Three Days After Signing His Exclusive Deal

Dylan Smith

December 3, 2021

Earlier this week, popular streamer Ludwig Ahgren announced that he’d be leaving Amazon’s Twitch after signing an exclusive contract with YouTube. Now, only three days after inking the much-publicized deal, t... Read More...

A fake Wu-Tang Clan member has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Feds Uncover Alleged $20 Million Music Royalty Scam — 50,000+ Songs Illegally Claimed

Dylan Smith

December 3, 2021

Two individuals are facing a number of charges for allegedly operating a music royalty scam. Photo Credit: Emiliano Bar Two individuals are facing charges including conspiracy and wire fraud for allegedly usi... Read More...

Updated Nirvana Child Pornography Lawsuit Takes Aim at Kurt Cobain’s ‘Twisted Vision’ For the ‘Nevermind’ Cover

Dylan Smith

November 22, 2021

Earlier this month, legal documents revealed that Spencer Elden – the individual who appeared on the cover of Nevermind (1991) as a baby – intended to file an amended child pornography complaint against Nirva... Read More...

Universal Music Sues Investment Platform Over Alleged Republic Records Trademark Infringement

Dylan Smith

November 12, 2021

Universal Music Group (UMG) is officially suing five-year-old investment platform OpenDeal (doing business as Republic) over its recent expansion into music, which allegedly infringes upon several trademarks ... Read More...

Universal Music Releases Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ 30th Anniversary Album Editions — With the Original Cover

Dylan Smith

November 12, 2021

Nirvana co-founder Kurt Cobain (left) and Dave Grohl (center) during a 1991 radio interview with Kurt St. Thomas. Photo Credit: Julie Kramer Evidently unfazed by the shocking child-pornography lawsuit filed b... Read More...

Why Songwriter Royalty Rates Won’t Be Changing Much — No Matter How Many Copyright Hearings Take Place

Jody Dunitz

November 11, 2021

Photo Credit: Toa Heftiba The interests of songwriters and their publishers aren’t aligned. So why is the most vocal songwriter advocate working for the music publishers? The rate hearings for “streaming mec... Read More...

What Music Is Making Movies Tick? Here Are the 12 Biggest Film Sync Licensing Trends of 2021

Social Media Is Transforming Sync — Here’s How I’m Scoring Placements in the Digital Age

Meet the Sync Superstar Behind the Ad for Nissan’s 2023 Z

Robyn Cage Discusses Sync Licensing Tips for Beginners on Songtradr

Sync Licensing Is Helping This Tropical Music Star Find Fans on the Global Stage

Here’s How a Volume-Based Sync Licensing Approach Helped These Musicians Score a VRBO Placement

Here’s What Drives Sync Licensing Success — According to a Veteran Creator Fresh Off a Samsung Placement

Now That the Music Modernization Act Has Passed, Who's Gonna Run the Damn Thing?

Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music Are Only Getting Bigger — Which Is Great News for Niche Streaming Platforms (Our Latest Podcast)

Meet the Artist Who Is Literally Saving His Fans’ Lives — Our Latest Podcast

How to Game the Billboard Charts (And Why You Shouldn’t)

Stop Chasing Playlists and Start Building a Music Career — Our Latest Podcast

‘Bone Conduction’ Headphones Don’t Go Over Your Ears — But Still Transmit Sound to Your Inner Cochlea

Investing In Music Catalogs? It Ain’t All Daisies & Butterflies — Our Latest Podcast

Jimi Hendrix Estate Preemptively Sues Estates of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell Over Copyright Infringement Notice

Sound Credit Unleashes Version 4 — A Quantum Leap for Eliminating $1.4 Billion In Annual Missing Royalties

Prince Estate Valued at $156.4 Million In Settlement of Years-Long IRS Dispute

Cox Fires Back Against $1 Billion Infringement Verdict: The Major Labels ‘Lied to Cox; They Lied to the Court; and They Lied to the Jury’

Spotify Wins Trademark Lawsuit Against Weed Company ‘Potify’

Primary Wave Purchases James Brown Catalog, Likeness, and Real Estate In Reportedly $90 Million Deal

Mary Bono Moves to Dismiss Cher’s ‘Groundless’ $1 Million Lawsuit

Federal Court Delays App Store Rule Changes In Epic Games’ Apple Lawsuit

‘ABBA Mania’ Tribute Band Faces Multimillion-Dollar Trademark Infringement Suit Over ‘Parasitic and Bad-Faith Conduct’

Yout Fires Back Against RIAA Motion to Dismiss In Long-Running ‘Rolling Cipher’ Lawsuit

Ludwig Ahgren Suspended by YouTube — Three Days After Signing His Exclusive Deal

Feds Uncover Alleged $20 Million Music Royalty Scam — 50,000+ Songs Illegally Claimed

Updated Nirvana Child Pornography Lawsuit Takes Aim at Kurt Cobain’s ‘Twisted Vision’ For the ‘Nevermind’ Cover

Universal Music Sues Investment Platform Over Alleged Republic Records Trademark Infringement

Universal Music Releases Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ 30th Anniversary Album Editions — With the Original Cover

Why Songwriter Royalty Rates Won’t Be Changing Much — No Matter How Many Copyright Hearings Take Place