A new wave of United States music litigation includes an estate dispute involving Dolly Parton, a recanted accusation against Jay-Z, and a copyright trial order for Sam Smith and Normani.
Parton estate sues nephew#
Dolly Parton had said she was putting her affairs in order because “you don’t want to leave a ‘mess to your family for people to have to fight over.’” A month after her death, her estate filed a lawsuit last week claiming her nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, tried to extort money by sending violent threats such as “I’m a killer” and “all I do is warfare.”
Seaver denies threatening anyone and says his words were taken “out of context.” One expert said, “You can plan the inheritance as carefully as Dolly did, but you cannot guarantee everyone’s acceptance of that plan.”
Other U.S. music law developments#
- Aaliyah’s relatives are still fighting in court over royalties to her music, more than five years after a catalog deal that was supposed to end long-running family drama.
- A woman who accused Jay-Z of raping her as a 13-year-old girl fully recanted her allegations, telling a judge that her claims were “false.” Her former lawyer Tony Buzbee called the testimony “bought-and-paid-for.”
- Shortly after the recantation, Jay-Z asked a California appeals court to revive his extortion lawsuit against Buzbee, calling it “explosive new evidence” that shows the rape case was “built on lies.”
- Sam Smith and Normani will face a jury trial after a judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing them of stealing key elements of their 2019 hit “Dancing With a Stranger” from an earlier track of the same name.
- A judge ruled that Ticketmaster and Live Nation must face a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission claiming the concert companies violated the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act by enabling mass-scale ticket reselling.
- Outkast sued a rapper and producer named Ovrkast for trademark infringement, claiming the name is “nearly identical” to their own and that he had reneged on a promise to change it.
- A man who admitted to using artificial intelligence (AI) music to steal millions in streaming royalties asked a judge to sentence him to no prison time, arguing that “no victim suffered any real harm.”
- A “Mayhem” surfboard brand that unsuccessfully sued Lady Gaga over her Mayhem album argued that losing the case does not mean it should be on the hook for her legal bills.
- Jermaine Dupri and Jacquees were hit with a copyright lawsuit over claims that their 2023 single “Pick It Up” copied a 1992 song of the same name by the ’90s rap duo Home Team.
