CMU Daily 18.02.19: Grand jury reportedly convened to consider latest R Kelly abuse allegations, LMFAO song-theft case to be split into two court hearings

Grand jury reportedly convened to consider latest R Kelly abuse allegations
The Cook County State Attorney's office last week secretly convened a grand jury to consider new allegations of sexual abuse that have been made against R Kelly, according to gossip site The Blast. Which is a development that could result in the musician facing new criminal charges in relation to the abuse accusations.

Although there has been plenty of reporting over the years about the various allegations made against Kelly, the spotlight has fallen back on the testimony of his accusers in recent months – of course – following the screening of the 'Surviving R Kelly' documentary by the Lifetime network in the US.

Kelly's defenders continue to point out that - while there have been plenty of lawsuits in relation to the abuse allegations - the musician has only faced criminal charges once and in that case he was found not-guilty.

In the wake of 'Surviving R Kelly', supporters of his alleged victims called on prosecutors to take new action. This led to Kim Foxx - the State Attorney of Cook County, which includes Kelly's home town of Chicago - calling on those alleged victims to come forward.

Last week an attorney called Michael Avenatti told reporters that he had approached Foxx's department on behalf of a client and that, among other things, he had provided the State Attorney's office with "a VHS videotape [showing] Mr Kelly engaging in multiple sexual assaults of a girl underage".

According to sources who have spoken to The Blast, the grand jury was convened last week in response to the evidence submitted by Avenatti. It is thought members of the grand jury will view the tape and then likely question the attorney's client, who is reportedly an ex-employee of Kelly and who says he knows the identity of the girl in the recording.

Meanwhile, another lawyer has told the Associated Press that she believes that it may be one of her clients who appears in the video. LA-based lawyer Gloria Allred also said that she had contacted police outside the jurisdiction of Cook County about her concerns.

It remains to be seen if any new criminal charges do now follow. For his part, Kelly continues to deny all the allegations made against him, while his lawyer told reporters last week: "We have not been informed about any new information by anyone and we have not been contacted by law enforcement".

BACK TO THE TOP OF THE BULLETIN

LMFAO song-theft case to be split into two court hearings
A judge has decided that the long running copyright battle over the similarities between LMFAO's 2010 hit 'Party Rock Anthem' and Rick Ross's 2006 track 'Hustlin' should be split into two. First there will be a court hearing over whether or not the plaintiff's in the case have the right to litigate. If they do, a second court hearing will then consider the copyright arguments at the heart of the dispute.

It was Ross who first accused LMFAO of ripping off his track, because 'Party Rock Anthem' has the line "everyday I'm shuffling", while in 'Hustlin' there's the lyric "everyday I'm hustlin". Legal action followed, though the lawsuits got caught up in all sorts of technicalities over the registration and ownership of the copyright in Ross's work.

Earlier this year the judge overseeing the case decided that Ross himself had given up his rights in the song so couldn't actually sue LMFAO. But there remained some ambiguity as to whether his co-writers - Andrew Harr and Jermaine Jackson – retained their slice of the copyright. If they did, they could sue.

Which meant that the whole case could proceed with Harr and Jackson as the plaintiffs. But, once that case got to court, there'd be two things to answer. First, did Harr and Jackson retain their rights? Secondly, is the line "everyday I'm hustlin" protected by copyright and, if so, does the line "everyday I'm shuffling" infringe said copyright.

Lawyers for the LMFAO side then argued that question one should be relatively easy to deal with once in court, requiring about three to five people to testify. But the other question is much more complex requiring about 40 testimonies. However, the second question might not even need to be asked, depending on how the first question is answered.

To that end, splitting the two elements of the case into two separate court hearings makes sense. Though, according to Law 360, the judge - Kathleen M Williams - expressed concern that, if the first of those hearings resulted in a lengthy appeal, the split could greatly delay getting any resolution on this dispute.

Legal reps for both sides admitted that, if the answer to question one is that Harr and Jackson cannot sue, that ruling will likely result in an appeal. But if stage one rules that the two men do have legal standing, then the case will likely proceed to the trickier second stage without appeal, so on balance the split approach was the better one.

And that's what Williams ultimately agreed to. The current aim is to have the first court hearing in April and the second in June.

--------------------------------------------------

Judge says Miley Cyrus lyric-theft case shouldn't be dismissed on summary judgment
A magistrate judge in the US has recommended that a copyright infringement case being pursued by Jamaican dancehall artist Flourgon against Miley Cyrus should not be dismissed on summary judgement, even though her 'fair use' defence is probably a good one.

Flourgon, real name Michael May, sued Cyrus in March last year claiming that Cyrus's 2013 single 'We Can't Stop' infringed his 1998 track 'We Run Things'. The dispute centres on a single lyric, with May arguing that Cyrus and her songwriting pals lifted his line "we run things, things no run we" and tweaked it to go: "we run things, things don't run we".

The lawsuit noted the popularity of 'We Run Things' within reggae and dancehall circles. It then referenced an interview with songwriting duo Rock City – co-writers on the Cyrus song – in which they talked about how reggae culture had influenced 'We Can't Stop'. May's legal filing then argued that Cyrus's team had taken reggae influences – including his lyric – as part of a plan to re-invent the pop star's image.

Lawyers for Cyrus and co responded with at least three arguments as to why they felt that May's copyright claim was invalid: ie that a single lyric isn't protected by copyright, that Cyrus's use of it was 'fair use', and that May's lyric in 'We Run Things' isn't in itself original.

Team Cyrus wanted the case dismissed forthwith, but last week magistrate judge Robert Lehrburger recommended that his colleague, district judge Lewis Kaplan, knock back that request. Though, Lehrburger added, Kaplan might want to limit any damages claim by May to just the three years before he filed his lawsuit last year.

According to The Blast, Lehrburger wrote in his recommendation: "In sum, analysis of the relevant factors strongly indicates that defendants' use of the phrase is a fair use. But whether that is so may be properly determined at summary judgment, not on this motion to dismiss where reasonable inferences are to be made, and ambiguities resolved, in favour of May, the non-moving party".

Both sides can now respond to Lehrburger's recommendation before Kaplan rules on the motion to dismiss.

BACK TO THE TOP OF THE BULLETIN

Live Nation buys Finnish hip hop festival
Last week being, well, a week with days in it, Live Nation bought it self yet another festival. This time a leading hip hop bash in Finland called Blockfest.

Confirming the deal, Blockfest boss Kalle Kallonen said: "This deal cements Blockfest's position in the festival calendar and will ensure that the festival attracts the hottest international acts going forward. We have a great team who are excited to work more closely with Live Nation Finland to deliver the best possible live experience for our audience".

Speaking for Live Nation in the country, Zachris Sundell added: "We have always had a great relationship with Blockfest and are looking forward to putting our resources into bringing more of the world's leading hip hop, R&B and grime artists to the festival. Blockfest is one of the most innovative festivals in Finland and we are THRILLED to be a part of its future".

BACK TO THE TOP OF THE BULLETIN

Phoebe Bridgers comments about response to Ryan Adams allegations
Phoebe Bridgers issued a statement on Instagram over the weekend following the recent New York Times article that made various allegations about the conduct of Ryan Adams. In that piece, published last week, six women - including Bridgers - accused Adams of offering to help them in their careers, before harassing them and becoming emotionally abusive. Other women have come forward with similar allegations since the article was published.

Commenting on the response that has followed the publication of the NYT report, Bridgers wrote: "It's been a weird week and I wanted to say a couple things. Thank you from my whole fucking heart to my friends, my bands, my mom. They all supported and validated me. They told me that what had happened was fucked up and wrong, and that I was right to feel weird about it. I couldn't have done this without them".

"Ryan had a network too", she went on. "Friends, bands, people he worked with. None of them held him accountable. They told him, by what they said or by what they didn't, that what he was doing was okay. They validated him. He couldn't have done this without them.
Guys, if your friend is acting fucked up, call them out. If they're actually your friend, they'll listen. That's the way this all gets better".

Adams has denied the allegations made against him, stating: "The picture that [the NYT] article paints is upsettingly inaccurate. Some of its details are misrepresented; some are exaggerated; some are outright false". However, as further allegations were made against the musician, it emerged that the planned April release of his new album 'Big Colors' was being postponed. Meanwhile the FBI is investigating specific claims that the musician engaged in explicit communications with an underage fan.

BACK TO THE TOP OF THE BULLETIN

Nick Cave to bring Q&A shows to the UK
Nick Cave is bringing his in conversation event – which he's staged elsewhere in the world already – to Europe this summer, including no less than nine editions in the UK.

The official blurb explains that these shows are "a series of evenings of music and open discussion" in which Cave "will take questions from the audience on all manner of subjects and perform some of his most beloved songs on piano".

After May dates in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden, Cave will jump back across the great big fat wall we'll have built in the English Channel by that point for the following UK appearances...

15 Jun: Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
17 Jun: Symphony Hall, Birmingham
19 Jun: The Barbican, London
20 Jun: The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
22 Jun: Usher Hall, Edinburgh
23 Jun: Sage One, Gateshead
25 Jun: Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
26 Jun: Eventim Olympia, Liverpool
28 Jun: Dome Concert Hall, Brighton

BACK TO THE TOP OF THE BULLETIN

One Liners: Tom Petty, Robyn, Alexisonfire, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Ahead of a new Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers best of compilation, previously unreleased track 'For Real' has been released.

• Robyn has released a video for her song 'Send To Robyn Immediately', mainly to promote her new line of clothes designed for sportswear brand Björn Borg. "It is Robyn's creative vision mixed with our brand DNA, a flirt with the street fashion of today", says Björn Borg Design Director Mija Nideborn. About the clothes, not the video. Although that meaningless nonsense could probably be applied to both.

• Alexisonfire have released their first new song for nine years, 'Familiar Drugs'. They've also announced that they will play Alexandra Palace in London on 1 Jun.

• Amon Tobin has announced that he will release his first album since 2011's brilliant 'ISAM' on 26 Apr. Titled 'Fear In A Handful Of Dust', it will arrive via his new Nomark label. Here's first single 'On A Hilltop Sat The Moon'.

• Former Bullet For My Valentine drummer Michael 'Moose' Thomas's new band Kill The Lights have released new track 'Watch You Fall'. "'Watch You Fall' is about learning to cut toxic people out of your life that breed negativity and think only of themselves", says vocalist James Clark.

• Ekkah have released new track 'Just A Thing'.

• Peggy Sue bassist Benedict Benjamin has announced that he will release his second solo album, 'Truant', on 3 May. Here's new single 'Ain't Easy'.

• Open Eagle Mike has announced UK and Ireland tour dates in May, including a show at the Islington Assembly Hall on 24 May.

• Tirzah has announced UK tour dates for April, including a three night run at The Scala in London.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.

BACK TO THE TOP OF THE BULLETIN

REM get Trump's 'Everybody Hurts' video taken down
REM have seemingly got a Donald Trump video that used their track 'Everybody Hurts' taken off the Twitters on copyright grounds.

Trump posted the video as his big border wall soap opera dragged on last week. It featured snippets of his recent State Of The Union speech intercut with leading Democrats looking despondent. Hence, you see, 'Everybody Hurts'.

Name-checking a more appropriate REM track, the band's official Twitter feed responded: "World Leader PRETEND!!! Congress, Media - ghost this faker!!! Love, REM". Meanwhile REMer Mike Mills mused that the President's use of their song in his video might constitute 'fair use' under US copyright law.

He tweeted: "So the meme's fair use. I LOVE the 1st Amendment! Meme away, folks. But that takes nothing away from what a fraudulent con man @realDonaldTrump is".

But, according to CNBC, the band's publisher did manage to have the video removed from Twitter on the basis that the song wasn't cleared for use. Responding to a tweet noting this development, and how it had led to cries of censorship among Trump's supporters, Mills observed "Winning?"

Well, you got take the wins where you can these days I reckon.

BACK TO THE TOP OF THE BULLETIN