Diddy lawsuit, Miley Cyrus case, Trump loss and more music law news

This is The Legal Beat, a weekly music law newsletter from Billboard Pro, providing a handy roundup of major new cases, landmark rulings, and all the fun stuff in between.

This week: Diddy faces a wide-ranging criminal complaint accusing him of decades of sexual abuse; Miley Cyrus faces a copyright lawsuit over allegations that her hit song “Flowers” ​​infringed on a Bruno Mars song; Eddy Grant wins his case against Donald Trump over the use of “Electric Avenue” in a campaign video; and more.

THE BIG STORY: Diddy’s Downfall

Less than a year after news broke of a civil lawsuit involving brutal allegations of sexual abuse against Sean “Diddy” Combs, something has finally happened.

The once-powerful rapper was arrested Monday night in New York City on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges. When prosecutors unsealed the indictment Tuesday, they detailed allegations of an elaborate criminal operation with one goal: “fulfilling Combs’ personal desires, particularly those related to sexual gratification.”

“Sean Combs … for decades abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” the indictment reads. If convicted of the charges, Combs faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.

Combs was arraigned in federal court later Tuesday and was denied bail, keeping him in jail until a possible trial. The judge said Diddy posed a flight risk and a possible danger to others, influenced by arguments from prosecutors that he was a “serial abuser” with a history of both violence and witness intimidation.

The charges against Diddy are similar in many ways to those against R. Kelly, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 for a decades-long scheme to abuse underage women.

Like Kelly, prosecutors are targeting Combs under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law that outlaws multi-person criminal enterprises. While RICO is best known as a tool to crack down on mobsters and drug cartels, the Kelly case proved that it can be just as effective in taking down a superstar musician who used his fame and wealth to build what amounts to a criminal enterprise — only one focused on facilitating sexual abuse.

And like the Kelly case, the Combs indictment has raised tough questions about why it took so long for law enforcement to act. When asked directly about it at Tuesday’s press conference, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams demurred: “I can’t tell you why it took so long. I think we’re better off focusing on the fact that we’re here today and we’re committed to making sure that justice is done.”

For more information about the case, read our full story about the charges against Combs, including access to the charging documents and statements from prosecutors, as well as our reporting on the bail hearing. And stay informed of developments in the case, because Billboard will keep you informed of all developments.

THE OTHER BIG STORY: Can I write my own songs?

Nearly two years after fans speculated that Miley Cyrus’ hit “Flowers” was a telling reference to Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” a company that owns a portion of Mars’ song is suing her for copyright infringement.

The complaint was not filed by Mars himself, but by an entity called Tempo Music Investments, which bought a portion of the copyright to his song from one of his co-writers. Lawyers for that group claim the two songs have “striking similarities.”

Whether or not they’re “notable,” the songs have clear connections. In the time-honored tradition of an “answer song,” Cyrus flipped Mars’ lyrics around and seemed to repeatedly refute them — in one instance, telling fans “I can buy myself flowers” when Mars said “I should have bought you flowers.” The reason for the references? Mars’ song was apparently a favorite of Cyrus’ ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, and the theory goes that her repeated allusions were a reference to their breakup.

At the time, legal experts said Billboard that Cyrus likely did not violate copyrights by simply using similar lyrics to refer to the earlier song. This week’s lawsuit alleges that the similarities go far beyond the lyrics, including “melodic and harmonic material,” “pitch ending pattern” and “bass line structure.”

But experts remain skeptical. To understand why, read our full storyincluding comments from copyright attorneys and access to the full complaint filed against Cyrus.

Other top stories this week…

‘ELECTRIC’ OFFENCE – A federal judge ruled that Donald Trump copyright infringement by using Eddy Grant’s iconic “Electric Avenue” in a 2020 campaign video without permission. Trump claimed he made legal and fair use of the song by using it in a video attacking Joe Biden, but the judge called it something else: “wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad.” Up next: A ruling on how much Grant owes in damages.

MORE DIDDY -Tuesday’s indictment overshadowed everything, but it wasn’t the only Diddy Law story of the past week. The rapper was hit with a new civil lawsuit from Dawn Richard, a winner of MTV’s Making the Band who says he subjected her to “abuse and exploitation” for years. He also said moved to put aside a $100 million default judgment won by a Michigan inmate who argued he was never told of allegations of “frivolous” sexual abuse and could easily have refuted them if he had been.

DOLAN DEVIATION – A federal judge has ruled that Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan must appear for a witness hearing over the infamous 2017 ejection of former NBA player Charles Oakley from the Manhattan arena, ruling that the CEO “had a seat on the sidelines” for the incident. Defense attorneys argued that Dolan, who also manages the Las Vegas Sphere and Radio City Music Hall, should not be dragged into a personal deposition, but a judge said the CEO “likely possesses relevant knowledge that cannot be obtained from other witnesses.”

TARIFF DEBATE –BMI value a tariff determination case has been filed against SiriusXM in federal court after failing to reach a deal during more than two years of negotiations, arguing that the radio company “is no longer a startup” and should pay more to songwriters. BMI pointed to SiriusXM’s increasing reliance on internet streaming over old-fashioned satellite radio, among other things. “Digital music services pay higher rates to BMI than satellite radio, and SiriusXM’s new rate should reflect this expansion of digital performances.”

TAYLOR CONFIRMATION – When Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president, the singer said she was moved to action by her fears about artificial intelligence — namely an incident last month in which Donald Trump posted AI-generated images that falsely claimed the superstar’s endorsement. Experts told Billboard at the time Swift could have sued Trump, but they predicted (turns out) the star would probably just counter Trump’s fake behavior with a legitimate approval of her own.

PHARMA BATTLE – Johnson & Johnson was hit by a copyright lawsuit J&J is accusing the pharmaceutical giant of “rampant infringement” over instrumental music in YouTube and Facebook videos. Associated Production Music (APM) – a joint venture between Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing – alleged that J&J released nearly 80 different Internet videos featuring unlicensed music from its catalog.