Beyonce hit with cease-and-desist letter over tour visuals
Beyonce has been sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding she drop some of the visuals from her 'Cowboy Carter' tour.
The 'Texas Hold 'Em' hitmaker's production company Parkwood Entertainment was sent the legal warning by James Dolan's Sphere Entertainment Group objecting to footage using their Las Vegas Sphere venue without permission.
A number of fans posted footage online from Beyonce's first concerts in Los Angeles last week, which featured a giant version of the 43-year-old megastar striding through Las Vegas, before picking up a computer-generated version of the distinctive venue and juggling it between her hands, leading to the company taking action.
The letter, which was obtained by the New York Post newspaper, read: 'Beyonce — many orders of magnitude larger than the Sphere venue — leans over, picks up the venue, and looms over it."
Sphere accused Beyonce of 'impermissible use and violation' of the company's intellectual property rights, which 'has resulted in significant speculation that Beyoncé will end her tour with a Sphere residency.'
The letter added: 'SEG was never asked and the prominent appearance and manipulation of SEG's Sphere venue in the video is unauthorised."
Beyonce - who has never visited the venue - has been given a deadline of Monday (05.05.25) to stop using the imagery in her videos, otherwise the company 'reserves all rights to take further action as SEG deems appropriate without notice.'
In addition, Parkwood were ordered in the letter to 'cease and desist from using the Sphere venue in the video immediately — in addition to refraining from using this imagery on any merchandise, promotional or marketing materials, or in tour movies.'
It was claimed last year that the former Destiny's Child singer had been in talks for months about a residency at the Sphere.
However, negotiations came to a halt over Beyonce's request the venue close for a two-week period so she could rehearse.
Sources told the New York Post at the time such a closure would be a "significant revenue hit", as the 20,000-seat venue was showing the immersive film 'Postcards from Earth' four times a day, with ticket prices starting at $104.
And Beyonce's team were said to be asking for around $10 million to produce her high-tech stage show, roughly the same amount the Sphere paid U2 for their residency.
She was believed to have moved on to discussions with rivals MGM about a possible residency of 100 shows over a four-year period.
A Sphere spokesperson said at the time: 'We do not comment on any artists performing at Sphere except for those who have been announced.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Meghan reveals ‘hardest part' of new job and how Prince Harry helps
IN LONDON Meghan has opened up about her struggles as a working mother, crediting Prince Harry with helping her keep the 'balance' in their lives. In a bonus episode of her podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, released on Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex told guest Tina Knowles (AKA Beyoncé's mum), that keeping everything in check while working towards a goal is 'one of the hardest lessons' to earn. Meghan went on to detail some of her strategies for slowing down and being present in her life, including simply '[taking] a minute to breathe' and 'having a date night'. She added: '[Harry and I] have a date night tonight.' While Meghan didn't elaborate on their plans, it comes just a few weeks after the pair was spotted looking cosy at Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour stop in Los Angeles. She shared an album of pictures on Instagram afterwards, writing: 'About last night …. Thank you Beyonce and team for an amazing concert (and a very fun date night)! All love.' The parents-of-two also celebrated their seven-year wedding anniversary on May 19, with Meghan posting a series of never-before-seen shots online. Her latest podcast episode follows a new report that Meghan extended an invitation to country singer Dolly Parton to appear on her Netflix series but was turned down. The first season of the Duchess of Sussex's show, With Love, Meghan, was released in March and featured eight episodes, each with different guests. According to royal and entertainment commentator Kinsey Schofield, the country singer's team was 'livid' at the request. 'Because no, they don't want to risk Dolly's reputation Q score [and] her popularity by associating with Meghan Markle,' she alleged in a recent podcast episode of The Nerve with Maureen Callahan. 'They knew that this ask was just to give Meghan Markle credibility in this lifestyle space, a space that Dolly does have a lot of credibility in. 'Dolly is not only incredibly popular and loved by the general public, but she also is somebody who can float around within these different places. 'Her team really feels like Meghan was trying to take advantage of her popularity.'
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Kanye West ‘dreams' of apologising to Jay-Z
The controversial artist took to X to say that he often thinks about making amends. "All my dreams have been about apologising to Jay-Z.' The Chicago rapper and producer went on a rant about his mentor's kids earlier this year, insinuating that Jay and his wife Beyoncé's young twins, Rumi and Sir Carter, have mental disabilities. "Wait, has anyone ever seen Jay-Z and Beyonce's younger kids?" he wrote in a post. "No, like, literally, and this is why artificial insemination is such a blessing."
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Perth Now
Tina Knowles opens up on the 'difficulties' of working with Beyonce
Tina Knowles has warned of the "difficulties" that come from parents and children going into business together. The 71-year-old matriarch is mother to Beyonce and Solange, and has admitted that there would often be "disagreements" as she helped launch them both into the entertainment industry. Speaking on the 'Confessions of a Female Founder' podcast, she told Meghan, Duchess of Sussex: "There are difficulties sometimes because if you're dealing with your child or you're dealing with your mother, you know, you have disagreements. "I'm the one that always caves. I've been like that since I was young. If my kids are mad at me, I can't take it. I'll apologise." Prior to Beyonce's fame, Tina worked as a hairdresser and owned a salon in Texas, but it was only in 2024 that she managed to persuade the 'Single Ladies' hitmaker to co-found the haircare brand Cécred with her. She said: "It has been a dream of mine forever and Beyonce has been a big dream of hers, so we have talked about it for years and years and years but she was just not interested in pursuing another business because in her younger years she completely focused on her singing and her skills and all of that. It took some convincing. ~ "I was like 'I'll work on it, we can work on it together...' and finally she said 'Okay, we can start on it'. I didn't want to do it by myself. I just felt like at this point in my life, I didn't want to work that hard for once. I wound up working hard anyway but it's been a labour of love. [Beyonce] is on the stage with hot lights and she wears wigs a lot and she has managed to keep her hair beautiful and healthy, but that is not an easy task when you're in show business!"
