Music Law 2025 Recap, Taylor Swift Lyrics Case, Daddy Yankee Lawsuit & More Music Law News

THE BIG STORY: As 2025 winds to a close, Billboard is recapping all the biggest music biz stories of the last year — and on the legal front, it was relentless.

In January, Drake stunned everyone by suing his own record label over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” In May, Sean “Diddy” Combs went to trial over heinous sexual abuse allegations. In August, an AI artists signed a record deal that raised thorny legal questions. In November, the major labels raised even more by inking settlements with AI firms Suno and Udio. And in between, we got copyright cases galore, a Mariah Carey ruling, and plenty of litigation over Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour. 

Before the calendar turns to 2026 — and a fresh batch of game-changing legal battles crop up — go read our 2025 year-in-review and get all caught up on the year that was.

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Other top stories this week…

THAT WAS QUICK – President Donald Trump pardoned Tim Leiweke, an Oak View Group exec charged in June (by Trump’s own DOJ) over accusations that he rigged the bidding for an Austin arena.

SHAKE IT OFF – Taylor Swift’s attorneys asked a judge to dismiss an “absurd” lawsuit over claims she stole lyrics from a self-published Florida poet, saying the litigation must end “once and for all.”

RICO CASE – Daddy Yankee filed a blockbuster lawsuit accusing his ex-manager Raphy Pina and estranged wife Mireddys González of stealing royalties over a decade-long racketeering scheme. 

NO NEW TRIAL – A judge denied a new trial to Emani Ellis, the security guard who unsuccessfully sued Cardi B for assault over a 2018 altercation at a doctor’s office.

SAMPLE SPAT – WWE superstar John Cena is facing a lawsuit over the iconic horn riff from his entrance theme song – a case that shines a light on the track’s bizarre backstory of samples and credits.

BEHIND THE SCENES – A federal appeals court says Adidas didn’t violate securities laws by failing to warn shareholders about offensive behavior from Ye (formerly Kanye West) before his 2022 downfall. 

BACK TO PRISON – Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced to three months in prison violating his probation from a 2018 racketeering case by possessing cocaine and MDMA and assaulting a man.

SETTLEMENT REACHED – The years-long legal battle between Ultra Records founder Patrick Moxey and Sony Music has finally come to an end.

GUILTY VERDICT – DJ Quik’s son, David Marvin Blake Jr., was convicted of second-degree murder over a 2022 incident in which he shot and killed a 33-year-old man.