Music History

One Direction won a legal dispute over the right to use their group name. An American punk band of the same name claimed that it had used the name first. One Direction US sought $1 million in damages from the British group and a share of licensing revenues.

The British High Court ruled that The Times had not libeled Elton John in articles about tax avoidance because the singer was not directly connected to the story.

Michael Jackson's former wife testified at the Los Angeles Superior Court in a civil case concerning the death of her former husband. She said that Michael had a very low tolerance for pain and that some doctors treating his pain tried to determine who could provide him with the best pain medication.

A man found in the pool house at Jennifer Lopez's estate in the exclusive Hamptons area of New York was charged with stalking. John Dubis, a former firefighter, was reportedly subject to a restraining order keeping him away from the singer and was also charged with burglary, contempt of court and possession of burglary tools.

After the Internal Revenue Service accused the Michael Jackson estate of undervaluing some of Jackson's assets by hundreds of millions of dollars, it assessed the estate $702 million in federal taxes and penalties. The valuation dispute continued for almost ten years.

Michael Jackson's family lost a lawsuit against concert promoters AEG Live over alleged negligence related to his death. A 12-member jury concluded that the doctor responsible for Jackson's care before the planned concert tour was not unfit for the job, and therefore AEG Live was not negligent in hiring him.

Michael Jackson's family lost a negligence lawsuit against concert promoters AEG Live in connection with the singer's death. The jury concluded that the doctor responsible for Jackson's care before his concert tour was not unfit for the job, and therefore AEG had not been negligent in hiring him. Jackson died in 2009 after an overdose of a surgical anesthetic.

Michael Jackson's estate sued three companies in Japan over the alleged unauthorized use of his name and likeness on pendants, pots, towels, postcards, and other products.

Police raided his estate in Berkshire, England, searching for evidence of an alleged sexual assault dating from 1985. He was in Portugal at the time, while the BBC received a tip and had reporters and a helicopter at the scene. He was later cleared of the allegations and sued the BBC for invasion of privacy.

John Lennon's murderer, 59-year-old Mark David Chapman, was denied parole for the eighth time by New York State authorities. The parole board stated that his release would be incompatible with public safety and would diminish the seriousness of his crime to such an extent that it would undermine respect for the law.

Marion „Suge“ Knight, founder of Death Row Records, was shot at a party hosted by Chris Brown in Los Angeles. Two other people, a man and a woman, were also injured, and all three were treated at hospitals.

The Raskins, who had paid $1 million for the opportunity to accompany Mötley Crüe on tour, were attacked during their performance at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center by members of the headliner's crew, who came onto the stage and poured urine on them. The group subsequently filed a lawsuit.

Don Henley sued The Duluth Trading Company over alleged unauthorized use of his name, trademarks and publicity rights in an email advertisement using the pun "Don a Henley and Take it easy" to promote Henley shirts. Duluth settled the suit the following April and published an apology on its website.

The LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched the home of Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed in Los Angeles. Authorities clarified that neither the rocker nor any member of his family was a suspect or person of interest; the investigation concerned a crime that had allegedly occurred on their property the previous year while Simmons was on tour with KISS. Simmons and his wife Shannon Tweed fully cooperated with the investigation.

After a 90-minute hearing, a US federal judge granted Aretha Franklin an emergency injunction preventing the premiere of the film Amazing Grace that evening at the Telluride Film Festival. Franklin objected to the use of footage from her 1972 concert in Los Angeles in the film. After her death in 2018, her family arranged for the film's release, and Amazing Grace was released worldwide on April 5, 2019.

Former teen idol David Cassidy was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and driving with an expired registration following a September crash in Florida. Police said that 65-year-old Cassidy sideswiped a truck, attempted to conceal his license plate and drove away with a flat tire. His lawyer said Cassidy had handed his driver's license and registration to police before leaving. In March 2016, Cassidy accepted a no-contest plea agreement and received two years of probation.

A Los Angeles court finalized Stevie Wonder's divorce from fashion designer Kai Millard Morris. They married in 2001, separated in 2009 and Wonder filed for divorce in 2012. The couple received joint custody of two sons, and Wonder agreed to pay $25,000 per month in child support; court documents were signed with his thumbprint.

Experience Hendrix LLC, which manages Jimi Hendrix's estate, sued Rainbow Guitars in Tucson, Arizona, seeking the return of the rare Black Widow acoustic guitar. The instrument was valued at between $750,000 and $1 million and had reportedly been stolen by a family member before changing hands several times. The store said it had purchased the guitar in good faith for $80,000 without knowing that its ownership was disputed. The court eventually ordered the instrument returned to the Hendrix estate.

It was announced that pills seized at Prince's home contained the dangerously potent synthetic opioid fentanyl but were incorrectly labeled as hydrocodone, a weaker type of opioid. Investigators into his death said that the autopsy results released in June revealed that Prince had died from an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Ann Wilson's husband was arrested for assault after getting into a physical altercation with Nancy Wilson's sixteen-year-old twins. The incident caused a rift between the Heart sisters, who completed the tour with separate dressing rooms and no contact with each other.

Mark David Chapman's request for parole was denied for the ninth time. Chapman was convicted of murdering John Lennon.

American singer Chris Brown was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a woman reported to police that he had threatened her with a gun. Beauty queen Baylee Curran told the Los Angeles Times that Brown had pointed a gun at her after she admired her friend’s jewelry. Brown emerged from his home following a police standoff.

The Kidd Creole, one of the founding members of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a homeless man in New York City.

Jerry Yester, a member of The Lovin' Spoonful since 1967, was arrested in Arkansas on 30 charges of possessing child pornography and was subsequently expelled from the group. In October 2018 he pleaded guilty to eight charges, and in July 2019 he was sentenced to two years in prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender.

Photographer Larry Philpot filed a lawsuit in federal court in California against Lynyrd Skynyrd for using his copyrighted photograph of Jerry Lee Lewis without permission. Philpot claimed that the band removed the copyright information and used the photograph at the first twenty-two shows of their farewell tour. The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice shortly after it was filed, suggesting that the parties reached a private settlement.

Mark David Chapman, who murdered John Lennon in December 1980, was denied parole for the tenth time. He was held at Wende Correctional Facility in Alden near Buffalo, New York.

The Music Modernization Act was signed into law, clarifying how artists, songwriters and producers are paid for music played through streaming services, internet radio and satellite radio. The law also granted royalty payments for songs written before 1972.

Pitbull had his famous catchphrase “grito” registered as a trademark, making it one of the few sounds protected by a trademark and probably the first such sound registered by a recording artist.

A woman identified only as J.C. filed a lawsuit alleging that Bob Dylan sexually abused her in New York in 1965 and supplied her with drugs and alcohol. Dylan's lawyers called the lawsuit false and extortionate. The woman withdrew the lawsuit in July 2022.

John Lydon lost a High Court case aimed at preventing the use of Sex Pistols music in a new television drama. Former drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones sued Lydon after he attempted to veto the use of the band's songs in a series directed by Danny Boyle. The series “Pistol” was based on Jones's 2016 memoir “Lonely Boy: Tales of a Sex Pistol”.

Thirty years after appearing as a baby holding a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana's album „Nevermind“, Spencer Elden sued the band and others involved in the cover photograph. He claimed that the photograph had caused him „extreme and permanent emotional distress“. He ultimately lost the lawsuit.

Police in Ohio conducted a search of the home of singer Afroman, author of the song “Because I Got High”, looking for evidence related to kidnapping and drug trafficking. Afroman was not charged, and he later used security camera footage in the music video for his song “Lemon Pound Cake”, which also focused on the moment when a police officer discovered a cake in the kitchen.

A US court dismissed a man's lawsuit against Nirvana over the iconic cover of the 1991 album Nevermind, which depicts him as a naked baby. Spencer Elden claimed that his photograph constituted child sexual abuse, but the judge ruled that he had brought the claim too late.

Adidas announced that it would review its partnership with Kanye West after he made several antisemitic statements and appeared at a Paris fashion show wearing a White Lives Matter shirt. Balenciaga, Vogue, Creative Artists Agency, and MRC also responded to his behavior by ending their relationships with him. Adidas's Yeezy sneaker sales exceeded $1.3 billion.

Lady Gaga did not have to pay a $500,000 reward to the woman who returned her stolen French bulldogs in 2021. The judge ruled that Jennifer McBride was not entitled to the reward because she later admitted to receiving stolen property. McBride also sought $1.5 million in damages, but the court rejected her claim.

Coldplay and their former manager Dave Holmes filed competing claims in London's High Court, with each party seeking millions of pounds from the other. Holmes, who worked with the band from 2005 to 2022, sued them for £10 million in unpaid commission. In a counter-claim, the band rejected his claim, said Holmes had allowed tour costs to spiral out of control, and demanded £14 million in damages. According to lawyers, Coldplay were paid an advance of £35 million for their tenth album and £30 million for their eleventh and twelfth albums.

Foo Fighters announced that they had not given Donald Trump permission to use the song “My Hero” at his campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, where he brought Robert F. Kennedy Jr. onto the stage. The band said that they had not been asked for permission and that, had they been asked, they would not have allowed the use of the song. A Foo Fighters representative said that any royalties from the use of the song would be donated to Kamala Harris's campaign.

ABBA and their record label Universal Music protested against the use of the song “The Winner Takes It All” at a campaign rally for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign without permission. They joined artists including Foo Fighters, Celine Dion, Adele, R.E.M., and The Rolling Stones in protesting the unauthorized use of their music at campaign rallies.

ABBA joined the growing number of musicians who called on Donald Trump to stop using their music. At a rally in Minnesota in late July, ABBA hits “The Winner Takes It All,” “Money, Money, Money” and “Dancing Queen” were played, prompting a response from the Swedish group.

Spotify won a legal dispute brought by publisher Eight Mile Style over Eminem’s songs. The publisher claimed Spotify had used the rapper’s music without a proper license since 2019 and sought £30 million. The court found that Spotify did not have a proper license to stream the songs, but did not order the company to pay the claimed lost licensing revenue.

The UK's competition regulator launched an investigation into ticket sales for Oasis's reunion tour, focusing in particular on the use of dynamic pricing through Ticketmaster.

Rapper Lil Nas X pleaded not guilty in a case involving assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest after he was detained in Los Angeles while walking the streets without clothing. He faced three counts of assaulting a police officer with injury and one count of resisting arrest.

Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers of The Police reportedly sued Sting and his company Magnetic Publishing Limited over authorship of the group's biggest hit, “Every Breath You Take”. Summers claimed that he created the song's distinctive guitar part. The British newspaper The Sun estimated Sting's annual royalties at $745,000.

Sting was sued by his former The Police bandmates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland over alleged unpaid shares of royalties from songs recorded by the group between 1977 and 1984. In the civil case at the High Court, they claimed they had an oral agreement to share the income, which was later formalized in written contracts. Sting, who wrote The Police's biggest hits, denied the allegations, and his lawyers described the claims as unjustified.

Sean “Diddy” Combs was sentenced to a little over four years in prison after being found guilty of offenses related to prostitution involving two of his former partners. His lawyers sought a 14-month sentence, arguing that he had changed during his 13 months in a New York jail, while prosecutors sought 11 years, citing his history of domestic violence. Before being sentenced to 50 months, Combs addressed the court in what was his first public statement since the beginning of the trial.

A judge dismissed the defamation lawsuit filed against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar's song "Not Like Us", ruling that diss tracks are protected speech and that an ordinary listener would not regard them as statements of verified fact.

Metal band Demon Hunter sued Netflix for trademark infringement in connection with the film KPop Demon Hunters, which produced the No. 1 hit “Golden” and a concert tour. The band said people were confusing it with the Netflix franchise and that it had even received a refund request from someone who bought tickets to a Demon Hunter concert believing it was a K-pop concert.

Gary Glitter, 82, pleaded not guilty at a British court to eight counts of sexual abuse of a girl aged between 8 and 11. The alleged offenses were said to have taken place between 1978 and 1981 under his legal name, Paul Gadd. Judge Tony Baumgartner adjourned the case for a three-week trial scheduled to begin on November 22, 2027.