Olivia Dean Lawsuit, AI Fraudster Sentence, Erica Campbell Case & More Top Music Law News

THE BIG STORY: If you want to predict the music industry’s next big copyright lawsuit, look no further than the YouTube comments.

Many months ago, when Olivia Dean’s “I’ve Seen It” hit the video site, more than a few commenters said they heard something they’d heard before: “The chorus reminds me a lot like ‘just the two of us,’” one wrote. “I can’t help thinking about ‘Just the two of us’,” another added. “Strong ‘Just The Two Of Us’ vibes,” yet another listener said.

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It turns out they weren’t the only ones to hear it.

A new lawsuit last week, first reported by Billboard, claims Dean’s song stole key elements from the iconic 1980 song “Just the Two of Us” by Bill Withers. Filed by the late singer’s publisher against Dean’s label (Capitol Records) and publisher (Sony Music Publishing), the case claims the overlap between the two songs is “obvious and inescapable.”

The lawsuit is a big deal because Olivia Dean is a big deal — a true breakout over the past two years behind smash singles “Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” off a hit album, The Art of Loving, that’s spent 52 weeks and counting on the Billboard 200. And she’s not accused of borrowing from some unknown song — “Just the Two of Us” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has appeared in countless movies, ads and TikToks over the years.

Do they really sound so alike? Go listen for yourself here. And for more on the lawsuit, including access to the actual complaint filed in court, go read our full story here.

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Other top stories this week…

-Michael Smith, a North Carolina musician who used AI songs to steal $8 million in royalties, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in a first-ever criminal case over streaming fraud.

-A lawsuit against distributor SRG/ILS Group over royalties to Erica Campbell’s latest gospel album quickly ended in a settlement, less than a month after it was filed.

–Oasis filed a lawsuit against its longtime former sound engineer Huw Richards to block his looming auction of a trove of unheard recordings valued at more than $2 million. And it worked.

-A closely watched hearing in the legal battle between Dolly Parton’s estate and the late singer’s nephew was pushed back two weeks to give the man more time to hire attorneys.

–The Game sued Universal Music Group over claims that it failed to properly promote his 2022 album Drillmatic — Heart vs. Mind, causing the record to suffer “diminished commercial performance.”

-A week after Jay-Z’s rape accuser recanted her accusations, a California appeals court refused to rehear his case against the attorneys who filed it — but cleared the way for a lower court to do so.

–FKA Twigs moved to end her lawsuit against Shia LaBeouf after she said the actor agreed to void a non-disclosure agreement she claimed was illegal.

-The Mechanical Licensing Collective’s lawsuit against Pandora is headed to a jury trial after a judge said he didn’t have the time to sift through “corpulent” case file of more than 7,000 pages.

–Lil Durk may have been acquitted of ordering rival Quando Rondo’s murder, but he’s still facing a second trial, on a racketeering charge, that is now scheduled for next summer.

-Techno star Sara Landry sued her former management company The Night Department over claims that it kept using her name even after she fired the firm last year for “betraying” her trust.

-Sean “Diddy” Combs was ordered to repay $478,000 in legal bills incurred by NBC in defeating the mogul’s unsuccessful defamation lawsuit over a 2025 Peacock documentary.

-An Austrian judge ruled that one of the men convicted of planning a foiled terrorist attack at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stop in Vienna cannot sue Disney for showing his home in a docuseries about the tour.

-A former housekeeper mauled by a 200-pound dog at Chris Brown’s house accepted a reduced $9.5 million verdict — down from the original $13 million — rather than risk a new jury trial.

-The New York attorney general sued the organizers of an upstate EDM festival over accusations they “failed to issue a single refund to consumers” after canceling the event due to a permitting dispute.