Salt-N-Pepa is getting support from Irving Azoff’s Music Artists Coalition (MAC) in litigation with Universal Music Group (UMG) over rights to the iconic hip-hop duo’s catalog of hits.

MAC submitted an amicus brief on Tuesday (April 7) to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which is reviewing a lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit brought by Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton against the world’s largest music company. The dispute stems from UMG’s refusal to revert the rappers’ master recordings after they exercised the so-called “termination right,” a tenet of copyright law that allows creators to claw back their intellectual property decades after signing it away.

A New York federal judge ruled in January that Salt-N-Pepa has no termination rights because the duo was not actually a party to any of its 1986 contracts with Next Plateau Records, which has since been absorbed by UMG. These deals were executed by the duo’s music producer, Hurby “Luv Bug” Azor, and do not say anywhere that Salt-N-Pepa owned its songs.

MAC, the advocacy group founded by Azoff in 2019 alongside artists like Don Henley, Dave Matthews and Anderson .Paak, warns in its amicus brief that the lower court’s decision creates a dangerous roadmap showing record labels and music publishers how to hold onto copyrights past the termination window.

“This ill-conceived rule makes it trivially easy for publishers or distributors to evade termination: By transferring rights to a new entity and ensuring an author is neither a party to nor an executor of the new grant, publishers and distributors can entirely insulate themselves from an author’s enforcement of statutory termination rights,” reads the brief. “Accepting such a rule would render decades of negotiation and eventual compromise between authors and distributors — as codified in the 1976 Act — entirely meaningless, nullifying the hard‑won protections the 1976 Copyright Act affords authors.”

MAC, joined by writer advocacy group Authors Alliance and legal organization Public Knowledge, says Congress explicitly created copyright termination to address creators’ inadequate leverage and compensation early in their careers. The brief notes, for example, that Bob Dylan received only a $100 advance in his first publishing deal in 1962, and Bruce Springsteen signed away his entire catalog to a manager in exchange for just 3% of royalties in 1972.  

Also on Tuesday, the National Society of Entertainment & Arts Lawyers (NSEAL) submitted its own amicus brief in support of Salt-N-Pepa. Authored by the New Orleans-based music attorney who recently won a landmark appellate ruling on the global reach of copyright termination, the brief focuses on the “work for hire” exception to termination rights.

Under copyright law, work created in the scope of employment is not eligible for termination. Though the lower court did not focus on this exception in the Salt-N-Pepa ruling, NSEAL argues that the decision implicitly determined — incorrectly — that the rappers were working for hire in 1986.

“Inherent in the district court’s conclusion that there was no ‘transfer of copyright ownership’ by Denton and James, is a determination that the subject recordings were ‘works made for hire,’” writes NSEAL. “Respectfully, making that determination without any factual development or legal explanation was reversible error, and the case should be remanded.”

Salt-N-Pepa’s lawyer, Richard Busch, praised both briefs in a statement to Billboard: “That these amazing groups of the top people in the industry filed these amicus briefs speaks volumes not only to the strength of this appeal but to its importance to all artists in the music industry.”

A rep for UMG did not return a request for comment on the amicus briefs on Wednesday (April 8). The company’s own appellate brief is due next month.

Following Pershing Square’s bid to acquire Universal Music Group (UMG) on Tuesday (April 7), the music giant has confirmed that its board of directors received the “unsolicited and non-binding proposal” in a brief press release in which it expressed “complete confidence in” the company’s strategy under chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge.

“The Board of Directors, together with its advisors, will review the proposal in accordance with its fiduciary duties and analyze its implications for shareholders, employees, artists, songwriters and other stakeholders,” the release reads.

It adds, “The Board of Directors has complete confidence in UMG’s strategy and the leadership of Sir Lucian Grainge and the Company’s management team. UMG will have no further comment on the proposal until the Board of Directors completes its review.”

The offer from the Bill Ackman-founded investment firm values UMG at more than $60 billion. The proposed deal, which would entail a 9.4 billion euros ($10.85 billion) total cash or 5.05 euros per share ($5.82) offer to shareholders, would result in UMG merging with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings and would move the new entity’s headquarters from the Netherlands to Nevada, while its stock would move from the Euronext Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange.

“While business performance has been strong, UMG’s share price has languished,” Ackman wrote in a Tuesday letter to UMG’s board of directors that mentioned uncertainty over UMG investor Bolloré Group’s 18% stake in the company, its decision to delay a U.S. stock offering and the under-utilization of the music company’s balance sheet as reasons for the stock’s overall downward trajectory since its closing price on the first day of trading. “Notably, none of the above issues relate to the company’s execution of its music business, and importantly, all of the above issues can be addressed in a merger transaction.”

Ackman, who held a call to address analysts’ and shareholders’ questions about the proposed deal earlier on Tuesday, wrote that he expects the deal to close by the end of the year.

Miles Gersh was promoted to executive vp of A&R at Warner Records, the label announced on Tuesday (April 7).

Gersh, who joined the company in 2019 and was most recently vp of A&R, introduced Zach Bryan to Warner Records Group CEO & co-chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck in 2020 based on the success of his independent releases. Bryan signed to Warner Records the following year and has since scored five top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including two No. 1s: 2023’s self-titled set and this year’s With Heaven on Top. He’s also notched three top 10s on the Billboard Hot 100, including the No. 1 smash “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves.

In addition to Bryan, Gersh has helped develop emerging talent including bunii, IShowSpeed, Maddox Batson, CJ and Veeze. Prior to Warner, Gersh worked at Doug Morris‘ 12Tone Music. He has been recognized on Billboard‘s 40 Under 40 and Country Power Players lists.

“Miles understands that true artist development starts with a deep respect for the creator’s voice,” said Bay-Schuck in a statement. “The partnership he’s built with Zach and his other outstanding artists reflects his commitment to authenticity and his drive to help our talent win on their own terms. Miles is a vital part of the future of Warner Records, and this promotion is a testament to the key role he’s played in elevating our music, our teams, and our culture.”

Gersh added, “I’m deeply grateful to Aaron and [Warner Records executive vp & head of A&R] Karen [Kwak] for their mentorship and for their belief in me as I take on this new role. They’ve championed a culture I’m proud to be a part of — one that consistently puts the artist first. We have a remarkable roster, backed by the incredible Warner team, and I’m excited to build on our momentum to help take our artists to the next level while bringing game-changing new talent into the fold.”

A warrant is out for the arrest of a 55-year-old woman who allegedly stalked and threatened Lindsey Buckingham for years before physically attacking the Fleetwood Mac frontman last month.  

Michelle Dick was hit with felony charges that carry potential prison time in a Friday (April 3) criminal complaint brought by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and obtained by Billboard. A judge signed a warrant for Dick’s arrest, ordering that she be held on $300,000 bail if apprehended.

Prosecutors claim Dick has stalked and repeatedly threatened Buckingham with violence since 2021. The harassment allegedly escalated to physical violence last month, when Dick is accused of hitting Buckingham with her car and dousing the musician with an unknown substance in Santa Monica.

Dick is charged with seven total counts of stalking, making criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon, battery and vandalism. In addition to targeting Buckingham, she’s also accused of stalking another individual referred to in court filings as “Stephanie N.”

Buckingham previously won a restraining order in 2024 requiring Dick to stay away from his family and cease all contact. In court filings from that time, the singer and guitarist said Dick began calling him and his family members in 2021, claiming to be Buckingham’s child and threatening to kill them.

The restraining order petition also claimed Dick had called in threats to venues where Buckingham was performing in 2022. She then went away for a couple of years but allegedly returned in 2024, showing up at the family’s Los Angeles home and making more threatening phone calls.

“She is clearly mentally unfit and harbors delusions, which makes her scary to me and unpredictable,” wrote Buckingham in a court declaration.

Reps for Buckingham did not immediately return a request for comment on the criminal complaint on Tuesday (April 7). Dick could not be located.