In today’s CMU Daily: During Diddy’s most recent bid for bail, it emerged that prosecutors had access to handwritten notes he had made while in prison. His lawyers argue those notes are protected by attorney-client privilege and the fact they reached prosecutors is “outrageous” - they now want the court to intervene 

Also today: Ador v NewJeans slanging match continues as group says forcing them to continue working with the label would be “inhumane”; the MLC’s catchily-named DURP project has hit a milestone with more than 100 distributors signed up

Plus: !K7 Music founder Horst Weidenmüller has been presented with an Outstanding Contribution Award by IMPALA, recognising the label’s near four decades of success and Weidenmüller’s work as a champion of sustainability 

Horizon Future Leaders: Q&A with Tia Johnson, Marketing Manager at Atlantic Records UK

“Illegal search” of Diddy’s jail cell proves “shocking and outrageous” conduct by government, could jeopardise entire case, says defence

Lawyers working on Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ defence against charges of sex trafficking and racketeering have asked the courts to throw out evidence gathered by the prosecution that they say breaches attorney-client privilege. That evidence is mainly Diddy’s “handwritten, privileged notes, a roadmap to his defence” that made its way to the prosecution team in an example of “shocking and outrageous government conduct”. 

Combs’ attorneys also want prosecutors who have seen that evidence and are “tainted by access to the privileged materials” to be removed from the case and for a court order to stop the government “monitoring Mr Combs’ communications with the defence team”. 

On top of that, the lawyers want the court to order a formal discovery process and subsequent hearing to establish the extent to which the prosecution’s conduct in the investigation may have breached Combs’ constitutional rights, including by accessing and using privileged materials. 

The outcome of that hearing, says the defence team, might be that the court orders measures to “minimise prejudice going forward” or, depending on what is discovered, even throws the whole case against Diddy out entirely. 

At the heart of the dispute are handwritten notes made by Combs while in prison which were photographed during a routine sweep of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where the musician has been held ever since he was charged in September. 

Those notes were about Combs’ defence which, his lawyers argue, mean they are covered by the principle of attorney-client privilege and therefore should not have been seen by prosecutors. 

The notes came up during Combs’ most recent attempt to secure bail, when prosecutors used them to back up their argument that there was a high risk of witness tampering if Combs is released while awaiting trial. 

Prosecutors argue that the notes are not covered by attorney-client privilege, adding that they were checked by a ‘filter team’ - which goes through evidence for that sort of reason - before they were seen by anyone working on the prosecution.

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HYBE execs are trash talking NewJeans and it would be “inhumane” to enforce contractual terms says band as K-pop’s biggest dispute rumbles on

The members of K-pop group NewJeans have issued a lengthy statement after Ador, their HYBE-owned label, launched legal proceedings to enforce the terms of their contract with the company. 

Ador filed court action earlier this week after NewJeans announced last week that they were terminating their contract with the label - or ‘agency’, to use the K-pop vernacular - because a long list of grievances had not been properly addressed. 

The group’s members say that they only learned about the lawsuit via the media, and add that Ador’s press release announcing the litigation doesn’t actually include any information that proves that the label is not in breach of the terms of its contract with NewJeans. 

Instead, say the group, Ador’s main point is that the contract can’t be terminated until the company has recouped on the investment it has made in NewJeans. 

In its press release, Ador made the point that - if aggrieved artists were allowed to simply unilaterally terminate contracts with their agencies - that would result in damage to the entire business model of the K-pop industry, because agencies wouldn’t be able to make the often-risky upfront investments required to develop artists. 

However, NewJeans say that Ador has already recouped their investment adding, “we have already returned profits exceeding the investment” to Ador and its parent company HYBE.

The group’s statement also quickly runs through some of their complaints about Ador - which include HYBE executives allegedly trash talking their achievements to media contacts. 

“HYBE has attempted various forms of interference, including defamation and reverse viral marketing, to devalue us”, says the group’s statement, adding, that “this is akin to the company producing malicious comments against us, the very artists they are supposed to protect”.

DURP! The MLC has an update on its distributor portal

The Mechanical Licensing Collective’s brilliantly named DURP project - that’s the ‘Distributor Unmatched Recordings Portal’ - now has more than a hundred independent distributors on board who are using the service to identify recordings they distribute that have “related unmatched mechanical royalties” sitting with the MLC.

The 100+ partners now using DURP to find missing money includes a whole host of distributors, aggregators and labels from the UK, with AEI, Anjunabeats, Beggars, Ditto, EmuBands, LabelWorx, Music Gateway, Ninja Tune, Routenote, Sequence, Sundesire, State51 and Warp already on board, alongside a growing number of large European-headquartered distributors, such as Believe, FUGA and IDOL.

Dae Bogan, Head of DURP at the MLC (OK, his real job title is the rather less exciting ‘Head of Third Party Partnerships’) says, “Surpassing 100 distributor partners worldwide is a testament to the value the DURP provides to independent creators and their distributors. By simplifying the process of identifying and claiming unmatched royalties, we’re helping ensure every dollar reaches its rightful owner”. 

MLC head honcho Kris Ahrend adds, “The DURP is a first-of-its-kind initiative that was born out of Dae’s well-known and long-held passion for serving and empowering independent music creators”.

The MLC was set up after the US passed the Music Modernization Act in 2018, a piece of legislation that updated US copyright law to change - alongside various other things - the way streaming services and digital download stores pay mechanical royalties to songwriters and music publishers when their songs are streamed. The MLC now manages that process.

IMPALA presents Outstanding Contribution Award to !K7 founder, as label approaches 40th anniversary

IMPALA, the pan-European organisation for the independent music community, has presented its annual Outstanding Contribution Award to Horst Weidenmüller, founder and CEO of Berlin-based !K7 Music. 

The award comes as !K7 approaches its 40th anniversary, and recognises Weidenmüller’s work within the independent music community, including as a leading voice promoting the need for the music industry to prioritise sustainability. 

Announcing the award, Helen Smith, Executive Chair of IMPALA, says: “Horst is a force of nature, lifting all those that work with him and it’s an honour to be recognising all of his work with !K7 as a leading label. Their catalogue is eye watering, including for me personally”. 

Referencing Weidenmüller's work within IMPALA itself, Smith continues, “Horst’s work as Vice President of the IMPALA board already set down an early marker which was cemented when he founded our sustainability task force four years ago”. 

Weidenmüller himself says, “I am touched to receive IMPALA’s award", adding that “!K7’s culture and values translates into all of my work, whether it is across music, sustainability, inclusion or digital and beyond”. His work with IMPALA, he explains, “is an extension of that”, because “this is a shared journey we are on, where the independent sector underlines time and time again that we are leaders”.

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Tia Johnson Q&A

As part of our new Horizon Future Leaders series, we’re connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. 

This week, we caught up with Tia Johnson, Marketing Manager at Atlantic Records UK.

Tia shares her journey from her music business degree to now working with major artists like Ed Sheeran, revealing how taking the initiative to seek out internships and shadow industry professionals helped her build crucial connections and gain hands-on experience. 

She offers invaluable advice on staying adaptable in the fast-moving music industry, from pivoting campaigns in real time to seizing unexpected opportunities. With a focus on networking with kindness and leveraging digital trends, Tia provides the tools she used to succeed.