Summer Walker Lawsuit, DistroKid AI Slop Case, Top Dawg Ruling & More Top Music Law News

THE BIG STORY: Summer Walker and Universal Music Group are pitted in a legal battle over the status of her record deal, centered on the singer’s efforts to use California’s “seven-year rule” to get out of her deal.

The case, filed by UMG’s Interscope Records last week, argues that if Walker breaks her deal she’ll owe $50 million for not yet delivering enough albums. That’s because the seven-year rule has a special provision for the music industry, allowing labels to demand artists deliver their contractually agreed albums even if the titular seven years have passed.

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Reading between the lines, both sides still appear to be open to a deal. UMG said it was forced to file the case because of legal deadlines, but has “great respect for Summer” and hopes for an “amicable resolution.” Her lawyers said she is “disappointed” in the lawsuit and would “vigorously defend” it, but that she “remains open to a constructive resolution.”

For more on Summer, UMG and the seven-year rule, go read our full story here — and stick with Billboard for more updates as the case moves ahead.

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Other top stories this week…

-DistroKid confirmed that it had removed some user uploads in response to the scathing lawsuit filed last month by UMG that accused the distributor of flooding streaming platforms with “mass AI-generated, SEO-optimized, and copyright-infringing slop.”

-A California appeals court ruled Top Dawg cannot be sued under a new state “doxxing” law after it revealed the names of two women who sued the label for sexual harassment and assault lawsuit.

-A judge ruled that Muni Long’s former managers cannot subpoena her medical records after she publicly accused them of involuntarily committing her to a mental health facility.

 -Warner Music Group sued Ray-Ban over accusations that it used hundreds of songs in social media advertisements without permission — the latest in a flood of such cases over the past three years.

 -A judge ruled that a German artist suing Ye (formerly Kanye West) over an allegedly uncleared sample can cite his history of antisemitism and her own family’s ties to the Holocaust in the case.

-UMG was hit with a lawsuit centered on the rise of Gigi Perez, filed by a manager who says he “discovered” the TikTok sensation but then was cut out of her breakout.

-Two producers dropped a lawsuit accusing Travis Scott of illegally sampling their work on his chart-topping albums Astroworld and Utopia — a move that came with no settlement payment.