The 5 biggest music news stories of this week

From Cardi B’s win in court appearance to that Wuthering Heights trailer, this is what The FADER editors are talking about.

The B stands for “blameless”

Cardi B was cleared of assaulting a security guard after a jury in Los Angeles took less than an hour to reach their verdict on Wednesday. The civil trial first made headlines when Cardi’s testimony, which included her labelling the complainant “a bitch,” went viral.

“Let’s just put this behind,” Cardi told reporters after the verdict was delivered. “But I’m giving a warning: I am not that celeb you gonna sue and you think is going to settle. Especially when I am super, completely innocent. She added: “I know I’ve got a little reputation but I swear to god I am innocent.”

Been’ caught stealing

Tech giants including Google and Microsoft have been accused of training their AI systems on massive amounts of copyrighted music, according to a new report. The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) concluded that tech companies are training their artificial intelligence systems on music protected by copyright, including acts like The Beatles and Michael Jackson. “This is the largest IP theft in human history,” ICMP director general John Phelan said. “That’s not hyperbole. We are seeing tens of millions of works being infringed daily.”

Heathcliff, it’s me Charli

The first look at director Emerald Fennell’s take on Wuthering Heights dropped this week and, with it, came the news that Charli xcx will contribute original music to the film’s soundtrack. Emily Brontë would have loved a Brat summer, presumably.

Does Damon Albarn ever sleep?

Gorillaz played concluded House of Kong, a series of London shows at which they played their first three albums in full. The fourth night of their Copper Box Arena residency was a surprise show with fans oblivious as to what Damon Albarn and his bandmates would perform. With their phones placed in lockers, the audience were treated to a run through of a brand new, unreleased, Gorillaz album. The band brought out special guests Sparks and Johnny Marr as they debuted ten new songs.

A not-so smooth production

Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris Jackson this week aimed shots at Michael, the upcoming biopic about her father. Paris, posting on Instagram, responded to an interview actor Colman Domingo gave about his role as Michael’s father, Joe Jackson, in which he said the pop star’s kids are in “full support” of the project. “Don’t be telling people I was ‘helpful’ on the set of a movie I had zero per cent involvement in lol that is so weird,” Paris wrote on her Instagram story, adding “I wasn’t involved at all.”

She went on to state that she believes the film perpetuates false narratives held by some Michael Jackson fans “that still lives in the fantasy.” Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Michael is slated for release on April 24, 2026.