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On Monday, May 5, Sean "Diddy" Combs' criminal trial kicked off in New York City. Amid this, his music catalog reportedly saw a decline in radio plays. According to a HotNewHipHop article (published May 7), the mogul's airplay has suffered an 86% drop from May 2024.
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The steep decline must also have impacted Combs' earnings from his catalog. Per the media outlet, the Last Night rapper's music generated $3 million annually from master recording and publishing revenue from streams, sales, and radio airplay between 2021 and 2023.
Music executive Barry Massarsky (a partner at Citrin Cooperman) told Billboard:
"For a mature catalogue, such as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs... that portion of income impacted by a sharp decline in radio airplay is limited to 6 percent to 9 percent of total publishing royalties."
Mark Geragos joined Diddy's legal team this Monday
As the jury selection for Diddy's trial continues, the presence of a new attorney in the courtroom has been noticed.
Mark Geragos, a high-profile attorney who represented Chris Brown, Michael Jackson, and the Menendez brothers in the past, has seemingly joined the court for the Victory rapper's trial.
According to CNN, Geragos' daughter, Teny Geragos, is already listed as the second chair for the defense. Mark's courtroom presence has caused concern for the prosecutors, who have also written a letter to the presiding judge, Judge Arun Subramanian.
When asked about "apparent role as an advisor to the defendant," Mark Geragos told CNN that he was not entering the case, adding:
"I’m here to support my daughter. (Combs) is a friend."
Besides Geragos, several new attorneys have joined Diddy's legal team in recent months. Combs hired Brian Steel, the Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney who represented Young Thug in his criminal racketeering trial. Nicole Westmoreland, another attorney who represented a co-defendant in the same trial, has also joined the Satisfy You rapper's defense.
On Saturday, May 3, Sean Combs added a New York defense lawyer, Xavier Donaldson, to his legal team. CNN reports that Donaldson has made appearances at multiple pretrial conferences for the rapper before officially joining his defense.
Judge Subramanian questioned Mark Geragos' podcast comment in a private robing room discussion
While Judge Arun Subramanian did not address the prosecution's letter about Mark Geragos' role in Diddy's trial, he did call the attorney out during a private discussion in the robing room, a court transcript reveals.
Judge referenced a comment Mark made about the prosecution team, calling them a "six pack of white women," on a podcast. Geragos defended his remarks, saying:
"I think when you’ve got a Black man who’s being prosecuted and the client feels like he’s being targeted, it’s a – it’s an observation."
The attorney also clarified that he referred to Diddy as his client, as he had represented him in the past. Responding to that, the Judge said:
"I think referring to the prosecution in this case as a six-pack of white women is outrageous... and this would not be tolerated in any court from any lawyer anywhere across the nation. And I’m going to be watching and I’m going to be listening. All right?"
The jury selection process for Diddy's trial began on Monday morning and will continue throughout the week, before the opening statements begin next Monday, on May 12.
