Dolly Parton Estate Battle, Jay-Z Accuser Recants, Sam Smith Ruling & More Top Music Law News
Categoria: Musica
In this week's Legal Beat newsletter, Dolly Parton's estate sues her nephew, Jay-Z gets exonerated, Sam Smith faces a copyright trial and much more.
Por Billboard | 29/09/2026
THE BIG STORY: The late great Dolly Parton once told Billboard that 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.” But just a month after her death, family litigation is here anyway. In a lawsuit filed last week , her estate claimed that her nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, tried to extort money since her death by sending violent threats like “I’m a killer” and “all I do is warfare.” Seaver denies threatening anyone and says his words have been taken “out of context.” Related Dolly Parton Carefully Planned Her Estate to Avoid Family ‘Mess.’ A Legal Fight Is Brewing Anyway Billboard to Add Smart Media Albums As Chart-Eligible Sales Formats Duane 'Keffe D' Davis Gives First Interview After Tupac Shakur Murder Conviction As Dolly seems to have known, it’s all too common in the music industry for family feuds to break out after a major artist dies. It’s almost inevitable when stars like Prince die without a will, but even the best-planned estates can easily descend into intra-family legal battles. “You can plan the inheritance as carefully as Dolly did,” one expert tells Billboard , “but you cannot guarantee everyone’s acceptance of that plan.” For more, go read the full story here . You’re reading the Legal Beat , a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro , offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday, subscribe here . Other top stories this week… -Speaking of family feuds: 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 ex-lawyer Tony Buzbee quickly responded, calling the U-turn testimony “bought-and-paid-for.” -Shortly after the woman recanted, Jay-Z asked a California appeals court to revive his extortion lawsuit against Buzbee, calling it “explosive new evidence” that shows the entire 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 giants 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’d reneged on a promise to change it. -A man who admitted to using AI music to steal millions in streaming royalties asked a judge to sentence him to no p