A federal judge is refusing to wade into whether Jay-Z can use copyright termination to retake control of the rights to his debut album Reasonable Doubt — meaning that the complex issue won’t be resolved before a court-ordered auction of Damon Dash’s one-third stake in the company that owns the album.

The judge had been asked to decide that tricky question because of allegations that Jay-Z was using “false” threats of a looming termination to drive down the auction price for Dash’s stake in Roc-A-Fella Records Inc., which controls the rights to the famous album.

But in a ruling Monday (Sept. 30), Judge Robert W. Lehrburger flatly refused to do so — saying he had no legal power to add complicated questions of copyright law to the already-messy fight over Dash’s stake.

“The asset that is the subject of the auction is Dash’s one-third interest in RAF [Roc-A-Fella] itself, not the work owned by RAF,” the judge wrote. “The Court does not presently have jurisdiction over the validity of Carter’s copyright termination notice.”

As early as next month, the U.S. Marshals Service will sell off Dash’s 33.3% interest in Roc-A-Fella Inc., an entity whose only real asset is the sound recording copyright to Reasonable Doubt. The rest of the storied label, which Dash co-founded with Jay-Z in 1994, is not involved.

Though the court-ordered auction was originally intended to pay off an $823,000 judgment in a civil lawsuit, it has since expanded to include other Dash creditors. New York City’s child services agency wants some of the proceeds to go toward more than $193,000 that Dash owes in unpaid child support; New York state says they must pay down roughly $8.7 million that Dash owes in back taxes and penalties.

The owners of the other two-thirds of Roc-A-Fella — label co-founders Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) and Kareem “Biggs” Burke — have already attempted to stop the auction, including making changes to the company’s bylaws and intervening in the lawsuit. But a federal judge rejected such opposition in February, and the sale could take place as early as this month.

As the auction has approached, one major unresolved question for any potential buyer is just how long Roc-A-Fella will continue to own its only real valuable asset.

The so-called termination right, a provision created by Congress in the 1970s, empowers authors to reclaim ownership of copyrighted works decades after they sold them away. If Jay-Z is eligible for it, termination would allow him to take back the rights to his sound recording of Reasonable Doubt roughly 35 years after he released the album, meaning 2031. That would set a clear time limit on the amount of revenue a Roc-A-Fella buyer would derive from their investment.

But last month, attorneys for New York City filed court papers arguing that Jay-Z was not, in fact, eligible for termination — and that he and others were using “false” threats of an approaching termination to drive down the price of Dash’s stake in his company.

“Jay-Z’s statements to the press have poisoned the environment for the auction,” wrote Gerald Singleton, an attorney for the city, asking the judge to halt the auction and issue a ruling on whether or not Jay-Z could use termination to win back control of Reasonable Doubt.

Days later, Jay-Z lawyer Alex Spiro responded that there was “no merit to NYC’s accusations,” and that the Dash case was not the proper place to decide Jay-Z’s rights to the album: “Put simply, this is not the appropriate time, forum, or case to litigate any issues relating to Jay-Z’s notice of termination.”

In Monday’s ruling, Judge Lehrburger agreed with Spiro and Jay-Z: “[NYC]’s motion to stay the auction for purposes of having this court determine the validity of the copyright termination notice filed by Shawn Carter a/k/a Jay-Z in connection with the work Reasonable Doubt, an asset owned by RAF, is denied.”

The judge also rejected New York City’s attempt to conduct discovery into Roc-A-Fella’s holdings, saying that kind of investigation was also beyond the scope of the current litigation. An attorney for the city declined to comment on the order.

The auction is currently scheduled for Oct. 21, but it has been postponed multiple times and could be delayed again. A minimum purchase price has been set at $3 million.

Despite co-starring alongside Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux, Joaquin Phoenix wasn’t always a Little Monster.

In a new interview with Capital FM, Gaga reacts to a throwback video in which Miley Cyrus introduces the actor to her music 14 years ago. In the video, a teenage Cyrus tells Phoenix that she’s a fan of the “Poker Face” singer.

When asked if he is familiar with Gaga, Phoenix jokingly replies that he knows her “very well,” adding, “She has a song, ‘Everybody Goes Up.’ She also does the one, ‘Two Lashes at a Time.’” Cyrus playfully dismisses Phoenix, and begins singing Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which, again, the actor doesn’t recognize.

While watching the video, Gaga is seen laughing, before she adds, “I know what I’m showing him later. That’s so cool.”

Joker: Folie à Deux follows Phoenix’s return as Arthur Fleck, a.k.a the Joker, who is now confined in Arkham Asylum. There, he meets Gaga’s Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, and they form a powerfully chaotic bond with the goal of causing mayhem across Gotham City. 

Gaga previously told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that filming the Joker film with Phoenix was a “really soulful experience” for her. “It’s like these two people find love in this really dark place and it brings them all the light,” she explained.

Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters on Oct. 4. Watch Gaga’s reaction to Phoenix and Cyrus’ conversation here.

A string of Nashville hitmakers and rising artists will take over Ascend Amphitheater Wednesday night (Oct. 2) for the inaugural Red Bull Jukebox Nashville concert, headlined by Grammy-winning duo Brothers Osborne.

The lineup will also feature Shaboozey (who is in his 12^th week atop Billboard’s Hot 100 with his song “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” BRELAND, Tucker Wetmore, Priscilla Block, Muscadine Bloodline and sibling trio The Castellows.

Ward Guenther, founder/owner of the popular music discovery series Whiskey Jam, will be on hand to host the event. He tells Billboard he and his team “worked very closely with them on curating the lineup.”

“We try to include Whiskey Jam family members, ‘Jam Fam,’ as we like to call ’em, people that have played our shows through the years and honestly just bring the best blend of music and entertainment that we could find,” Guenther said. “Brothers Osborne has one of the best live shows you’ll ever see. So as a headliner, they’re going to encompass exactly what we want to do with this event, having a high-energy set that is as much for the audience as it is for the artists involved. We chose [outdoor venue] Ascend Amphitheater as a good place to start — it feels like a mini-festival.”

The Nashville show will be the Red Bull Jukebox series’ first event within the United States, having previously been held in countries including Japan and Switzerland (the Switzerland show featured the artist Hecht).

A key differentiating factor in the Red Bull Jukebox shows is the setlist, which is curated through fan voting. Fans offer their choices to a set of questions posted on the Red Bull Jukebox website and on artists’ socials, such as selecting whether they would prefer Brothers Osborne to play with a marching band or a bluegrass band, whether they would want to see Block covering hit songs from Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Paramore or Riley Green, or if BRELAND should welcome one of his musical cohorts from the genres of country, hip-hop or songwriting as a guest. Fans will also have the opportunity to vote in-person during the show on Oct. 2 through using wristbands that will be distributed to attendees.

“It’s all going to be as much a surprise for us and the artists as it is for the people in the crowd,” Guenther said.

The event’s houseband will be led by celebrated Nashville musicians including ACM Award-winning guitarist-producer Derek Wells.

“It’s going to be fun to watch the artists do [their performances] on the fly,” Guenther says. “We’ve got a world-class band that’s backing up all the artists and they’re having to learn tons of songs so they can be prepared for whatever happens. But I think that is going to be a big part of the magic of this show. If you’ve seen everybody on the lineup, you’ve never seen this show.”

Since launching in 2011, Whiskey Jam has put on over 1,000 shows, spotlighting rising Nashville songwriters and artists, with Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen and Jelly Roll being among those who have appeared at Whiskey Jam over the years. The Red Bull Jukebox show’s similar mission was part of the appeal for Guenther.

“The focus on the upcoming artists is a big deal. As we’ve done in Nashville with Whiskey Jam, you have to have some kind of recognizable names to get people in the door, but the hope for this event, and the future of this event, is we are bringing the future of music,” Guenther said. “When you come and see a Red Bull Jukebox show, you’re getting a sampler of what’s to come. It’s been a great collaborative effort…it’s like Whiskey Jam magnified with the power of Red Bull.”

Red Bull Jukebox Nashville show will put rising artists in the spotlight—though in this case, one of those rising artists, Shaboozey, has seen his artist profile skyrocket since he signed on for the show.

“When we started the conversation with Shaboozey, he hadn’t even been featured on the Beyonce record [Cowboy Carter], and then when [“A Bar Song (Tipsy)”] came out, and he had that [packed show in the middle of downtown Nashville at] CMA Fest, we were like, ‘Wow, we’re about halfway to Red Bull Jukebox and this is already the response. We can’t wait for the October roll around.’”

Guenther says another Nashville-based Red Bull Jukebox show could be a possibility, as could holding Red Bull Jukebox concerts in other U.S. cities.

“You could do a Red Bull Jukebox event in a place like Miami that would be the polar opposite of the one we’re doing in Nashville. You could have one in Texas or New York and they would all feel completely different,” he says, adding, “I can see it repeating again [in Nashville] if it goes as well as we are expecting it to. And there’s room to grow with a lot of potential in Nashville for doing bigger, even completely different shows here.”