Pick a Day

Music History Events: Legal Issues

December 31, 1912 Twelve-year-old Louis Armstrong fires his stepfather's pistol during a New Year's Eve celebration and is sent to the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs, where his musical training begins. He joins the band and takes up cornet, astounding instructors by learning solo on "High Society."

November 12, 2021 Britney Spears' conservatorship, in place since 2008, finally comes to an end when a judge terminates it. "Best day ever... praise the Lord," she posts on social media.

September 29, 2021 Granting her petition, a judge suspends Britney Spears' father, Jamie, as her conservator, a role he has held since 2008.

August 24, 2021 Thirty years after appearing as a baby grasping for a dollar bill on Nirvana's Nevermind album cover, Spencer Elden sues the band and others associated with the photo shoot, claiming it caused him "extreme and permanent emotional distress." He ends up losing the suit.

June 23, 2021 Britney Spears asks a court to end her conservatorship, which is controlled by her father. "This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good," she says. "I deserve to have a life." Despite her passionate plea, her request is denied, but she gets her wish five months later when her conservatorship is terminated.

December 1, 2020 South Korea, which requires men to enlist in the military by the time they turn 28, passes a law to defer service for K-pop stars who have "elevated the country's cultural influence around the world" until age 30. This keeps BTS intact, as Jin turns 28 three days later.

November 10, 2020 Through her lawyer, Britney Spears tells a court she is afraid of her father and will not perform again if he is in charge of her career. Since 2008, she has been under conservatorship, with her father in charge of her health and finances.

March 17, 2020 A federal judge rules in favor of Katy Perry, overturning a verdict that her song "Dark Horse" infringed on the song "Joyful Noise" by Flame. The jury had ordered $2.78 million in damages.

March 9, 2020 An appellate court upholds a 2016 ruling that Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" did not infringe on the Spirit song "Taurus," bringing an end to the lawsuit that was filed in 2014. The court also overturns the "inverse ratio rule," which sets a lower standard for infringement based on how much access a defendant had to a song.

July 29, 2019 In a unanimous verdict, a jury rules that Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" copied the electronic melody from the 2008 song "Joyful Noise" by the Christian hip-hop artist Flame. Three days later, the jury awards $2.78 million in damages, but in March 2020, a federal judge overturns the verdict on appeal.More

May 10, 2019 The #FreeBritney movement gains traction as supporters gather outside the Los Angeles courthouse where Britney Spears speaks to a judge about her conservatorship. Spears has been under the conservatorship, a legal maneuver typically used to protect the elderly or mentally incompetent, since 2008, with her father, Jamie Spears, conservator.

April 30, 2019 Dipak Rao, director of Deep Purple's royalty management firms, is sentenced to six years in jail for stealing £2.2million from the group's accounts, which he put toward money-losing schemes.

November 20, 2018 Skrillex is ordered to pay $1.6 million to a fan, Jennifer Fraissl, who was injured when he performed a stage dive in 2012 at his show at the Belasco Nightclub in Los Angeles.

October 11, 2018 The Music Modernization Act is passed into law, clarifying how artists, songwriters and producers are compensated for music played on streaming services, online radio, and satellite radio. It also grants royalties for songs written before 1972.

August 14, 2017 Taylor Swift wins her lawsuit against David Mueller, a DJ at KYGO in Denver who was fired after Swift accused him of groping her at a photo session before her concert there in 2013. When Mueller sued Swift in 2015, she countersued for sexual assault. Swift, who in her hour of testimony said Mueller was "grabbing my ass against my will, underneath my skirt, and refusing to let go," is awarded $1 at her request. "My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard," she says.

June 19, 2017 In Matal v Tham, the United States Supreme Court rules 8-0 that Asian-American rock band The Slants can copyright their name in spite of its disparaging racial meaning.

May 26, 2016 Gucci Mane gets out of jail after serving three years on gun charges. He goes home and records vocals for "1st Day Out tha Feds," which is released the next day.

May 17, 2016 Alanis Morissette sues her former business manager, Jonathan Schwartz, claiming he stole $4.7 million from her from 2009-2016. The following year, Schwartz admits to that theft and also to stealing another $2 million from other clients. Morissette is compensated in a settlement.

May 5, 2016 Arsenio Hall files a $5 million defamation suit against Sinead O'Connor after the singer posts a message on Facebook suggesting he was the recently deceased Prince's drug dealer. She later apologizes and Hall drops the suit.

February 27, 2015 Glam Rock pioneer Gary Glitter, 70, is sentenced to 16 years in prison for sexually assaulting three schoolgirls in the '70s and '80s. More

February 3, 2015 Former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight is rushed to the hospital after pleading not guilty in his connection with a fatal hit-and-run just days before. His friend Terry Carter was killed in the incident and actor Cle Denyale Sloan was injured during an altercation over the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. Knight faces charges of murder and attempted murder, along with two counts of hit-and-run.

January 30, 2015 Record producer Suge Knight is arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of murder the day after he was involved in a hit-and-run that killed his friend Terry Carter and injured actor Cle Denyale Sloan. Knight was on the set of the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton when he allegedly argued with the two men, then followed them to a burger joint where he ran them down in the parking lot. Witnesses claim he even backed over the victims with his truck before leaving the scene, but Knight's lawyer insists he was fleeing for his own safety.

January 26, 2015 Chris Brown postpones his Between the Sheets tour on judge's orders to stay put in California due to a probation violation earlier in the month. The rapper tells Twitter followers that he must complete his last 100 hours of community service before he can embark on the 26-city tour of the US with Kendrick Lamar.

January 16, 2015 Puddle of Mudd frontman Wesley Scantlin is arrested at the Denver International Airport after he takes a baggage carousel for a joyride into a restricted area. A local fan bails him out, but the band is still hours late for their performance, and an angry promoter tells the audience he will never book the act again.

November 6, 2014 AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd is hit with charges of "attempting to procure murder" in a New Zealand court. The charges are dropped a short time later, but the media coverage causes a spike in downloads of the song "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap."

August 14, 2014 Police raid Cliff Richard's Berkshire, England estate, looking for evidence of an alleged sexual assault from 1985. He's in Portugal, but the BBC is tipped off and has reporters waiting and helicopter overhead. Richard is later exonerated and sues the BBC for invasion of privacy.

July 24, 2014 Chubby Checker settles his lawsuit with Hewlett-Packard over their app: "The Chubby Checker." The app, which sold for 99 cents, purported to estimate a man's penis size based on his shoe size.

May 27, 2014 At his trial for historic sexual offenses, Rolf Harris sings a few bars of his hit "Jake The Peg." He's also known for the 1969 chart-topper "Two Little Boys."

February 14, 2014 With their music in legal limbo, De La Soul give away free downloads of their first six albums to anyone who signed up on their website. Their catalog isn't available digitally because of rights issues with the samples. "We're in the Library of Congress, but we're not on iTunes," group member Posdnuos says, referring to their debut album 3 Feet High And Rising.

November 25, 2013 Beastie Boys sue the toy company GoldieBlox for running an online ad featuring little girls singing an altered version of their song "Girls" (the group has never allowed their songs to be licensed for advertising). The suit is settled on March 19, 2014, with GoldieBlox issuing an apology and making a donation to charity.