Stars, Releases and Industry Moves: U.S. Entertainment Headlines from the Last 48 Hours

Overview

Major casting moves, new releases and industry legal developments surfaced across the U.S. entertainment beat in the past 48 hours, with studios, artists and music-rights holders issuing notable announcements and actions.

Music industry royalty lawsuit filed against ASCAP

A group representing production music owners and publishers has filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit alleging ASCAP underpaid and misreported radio royalties, marking a high-profile dispute over performance-rights accounting that could affect licensing across radio and broadcast platforms.

What was announced

• Production music owners and publishers filed a $123 million lawsuit against ASCAP alleging underpayment and misreporting of radio royalties, according to reporting summarizing the legal action in recent music-industry coverage.[1]

Why it matters

The case targets how a major performance-rights organization accounts for radio usage and royalties, and a ruling or settlement could reshape payments for production music creators and publishers nationwide. Industry observers say disputes of this size often prompt broader negotiations over licensing practices and transparency.[1]

Streaming, chart news and artist highlights

Holiday-season chart activity and streaming milestones continued to be a headline driver as key albums and singles dominated year-end lists and weekly tallies.

Notable chart movement

• Recent weekly music summaries highlighted continued dominance by major releases and seasonal albums on the Billboard charts, illustrating how catalog and holiday records re-enter top positions during December's streaming surge.[1]

Broadcast and streaming entertainment updates

Television networks and streaming platforms remain active with programming shifts and promotional activity tied to year-end programming and awards-season positioning.

Network news briefs

• Mainstream outlets’ live news streams compiled entertainment briefs that included casting updates and celebrity appearances on late-year programming lineups, reflecting typical year-end promotion cycles for shows and films.[2]

Regional and local entertainment roundups

Local outlets and station entertainment segments continued day-to-day coverage of community-level events, theater and music listings as the holiday season brings concerts and special broadcasts to regional audiences.

Local coverage examples

• Local newspapers and TV stations posted short entertainment segments and write-ups covering concerts, releases and community arts listings in their markets, underscoring a steady calendar of live events and local programming through the holidays.[3][4]

Context and what to watch next

The royalty lawsuit against ASCAP is the clearest industry development with potential national impact over the coming months, while chart and streaming movements reflect normal year-end behavior by consumers and labels. Expect follow-up reporting on legal filings, possible industry comment from ASCAP and plaintiffs, and updates to year-end chart tallies and programming schedules as networks finalize December and awards-season plans.[1][2]

Key sources

• Music-industry legal reporting and daily music headlines that documented the $123 million suit against ASCAP and summarized chart movements[1].
• Mainstream news live streams compiling entertainment briefs and industry items[2].
• Local entertainment roundups and station segments providing market-level coverage of events and releases[3][4].