entertainment blog

In 1967, the Monkees played multiple shows in the United States and the United Kingdom on their first-ever tour. An FBI file released to the public in 2011 revealed that at least one FBI informant attended a 1967 Monkees concert in Los Angeles. Now, Micky Dolenz—the last surviving member of the group—has filed a lawsuit in order to receive other FBI records collected on the Monkees, as Rolling Stone reports. The new suit alleges that Dolenz and his bandmates “were known to have associated with other musicians and individuals whose activities were monitored and/or investigated by the FBI,” including the Beatles (John Lennon, in particular) and Jimi Hendrix, among others. In 2011, several pages of FBI records were made available to the public, which revealed that the FBI was interested in th...

Earlier this month, Sony Music Entertainment withdrew the rights to its catalog from the shortform video app Triller, claiming the company owed millions in royalty payments. Now, the major label is suing the platform for copyright infringement and breach of contract, saying Triller failed to heed their licensing agreement’s termination, as Billboard reports. Sony accused the label of “brazen contempt” for its intellectual property rights, and of failing to pay any royalties since March this year. The label is seeking unspecified compensatory and statutory damages, an order to stop Triller infringing its copyrights, and a declaration that Triller deliberately infringed copyright. When contacted by Pitchfork, a representative for Sony Music Entertainment offered no additional comment. A repr...

Arcade Fire’s WE tour kicks off tonight (August 30) in Dublin, Ireland, and Feist took the stage as the show’s opening act. The band’s North American and European tour is currently scheduled to continue after allegations of sexual of misconduct were made by multiple people against frontman Win Butler.  According to fans in attendance at the Dublin show tonight who shared photos on social media, there’s a sign at the merch booth noting that Feist will donate all proceeds from merchandise sales at tonight’s show to Women’s Aid Dublin, an organization dedicated to stopping domestic violence across Ireland. Pitchfork has reached out to Feist and Arcade Fire’s representative for comment. On Saturday in a new report, four people detailed allegations of sexual misconduct against Butler. The ...

Kesha and Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald’s respective legal teams have sent dueling letters to the court as the musicians head toward a potential trial in their long-running legal battle, as Rolling Stone reports and Pitchfork can confirm. In a letter dated August 22, one of Kesha’s attorneys, Anton Metlitsky, asked the court for a November sitting to hear the singer’s two appeals in the case. “The trial absolutely cannot proceed unless the issues presented in these appeals are resolved,” Metlitsky wrote. One of the appeals has to do with a recent decision in the case that New York’s updated anti-SLAPP laws no longer apply to the defamation lawsuit. Essentially, Dr. Luke was found to be a private figure, meaning there is a relatively lower bar to clear to prove that Kesha defamed the producer....