Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in federal court in New York City on Friday (14 March), pleading not guilty to an updated indictment accusing him of two decades of sex trafficking offences. The 55-year-old music mogul, visibly greyer since his September arrest, stood before Judge Arun Subramanian, acknowledging that he understood the charges. Combs, who remains in custody without bail, embraced his lawyers and acknowledged family members before being escorted out… Read more: Sean “Diddy” Combs Denies Sex Trafficking Charges in Federal Court

Sony Music has removed over 75,000 AI-generated recordings imitating its artists, including Harry Styles, highlighting the growing threat of AI deepfakes in the music industry. The revelation was made in a submission to the UK government’s consultation on copyright reforms, which Sony warns could further harm legitimate artists and rights holders. Music executives believe these takedowns represent only a fraction of AI-generated fakes circulating online, as identifying and removing them… Read more: Sony Music Warns Against AI Threat to Artists Amid UK Copyright Debate

Drake has reached a settlement with Texas-based iHeartMedia in his legal dispute over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us, according to court records. In November, Drake filed a petition in Bexar County, Texas, alleging that iHeartMedia received illicit payments from Universal Music Group (UMG) to boost radio airplay for Not Like Us. Both artists are signed to UMG. The petition, a precursor to a potential lawsuit, sought depositions from… Read more: Drake and iHeartMedia Settle Legal Dispute Over Not Like Us Airplay

Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs have filed a motion seeking the dismissal of a sex trafficking charge in his federal indictment, asserting that the charge is rooted in racial bias. The legal team, filing the motion on February 18 in New York federal court, argues that no white individual has ever been subjected to a comparable prosecution under the Mann Act, a 1910 law originally enacted to prevent the trafficking… Read more: Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Claim Racist Motives Behind Sex Trafficking Charge Request Dismissal

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has entered into a landmark joint venture with UK-based Cutting Edge Group (CEG) to co-own and manage its vast catalog of film and TV music. Valued at over $1 billion, this deal is among the largest music rights transactions in history. Germany-based DWS Group is also co-investing in the venture. Spanning nearly a century, WBD’s catalog features over 400,000 compositions, including iconic scores from Harry Potter, Lord of… Read more: Warner Bros. Discovery and Cutting Edge Group Form $1 Billion Music Rights Joint Venture

A new report from the U.S. Copyright Office reaffirms that AI-generated songs are not eligible for copyright protection unless they include sufficient human authorship. Issued on Jan. 29, the report clarifies that merely prompting AI to generate a song does not meet the legal threshold for authorship, but using AI as a creative aid—such as a brainstorming tool or in a recording studio—may still result in a protectable work. Register… Read more: “Copyright Report: AI-Generated Songs Lack Protection, But AI Tools Remain Usable

The rise of generative AI in music has sparked new legal battles, with GEMA, Germany’s performance rights organisation, taking centre stage in Europe. On January 21, GEMA filed a lawsuit against AI company Suno in the Munich Regional Court, accusing it of using copyrighted songs to train its software without authorisation. The Core Allegation GEMA claims Suno’s AI system produces music closely resembling iconic tracks such as “Forever Young” by… Read more: GEMA Takes Legal Action Against U.S.-Based Generative AI Company for Copyright Violation

The Supreme Court has upheld a federal law that will ban TikTok unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance Ltd., secures a buyer by Sunday, January 19, according to The Associated Press. The unanimous ruling prioritised national security concerns over First Amendment challenges. While the ban is not expected to require app removal from phones, experts anticipate blocking new downloads and updates, eventually rendering TikTok inoperable. A sale by ByteDance could… Read more: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban

A lawsuit accusing DJ Diplo of sharing “revenge porn” was dropped after a judge ruled the plaintiff must reveal her identity to proceed. The accuser, identified as “Jane Doe,” alleged Diplo (Thomas Wesley Pentz) secretly recorded sexual encounters without her consent and shared them on Snapchat. Her attorneys requested the case be dismissed “without prejudice,” allowing for potential refiling. The dismissal followed Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani’s decision that the plaintiff… Read more: Diplo Accuser Withdraws Revenge Porn Lawsuit After Judge Requires Use of Real Name

In a pivotal case balancing free speech and national security, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday on the future of TikTok, a platform used by nearly half of Americans. TikTok has vowed to cease operations in the U.S. by January 19 unless the Court delays or overturns a law requiring its sale by Chinese parent company ByteDance. TikTok, ByteDance, and content creators argue the law violates the First… Read more: TikTok Threatens U.S. Shutdown by Jan. 19 Without Supreme Court Intervention