An angry Taylor Swift fan who sued StubHub after her $14,000 Eras Tour tickets were voided on the day of the concert cannot pursue her allegations in federal court, a judge says.

Alexis Christensen filed a class action suit last year over claims that her pricey tickets to Swift’s December 2024 show in Vancouver were suddenly swapped for a “side view of the stage.” Those new tickets were worth only $3,600, Christensen said, and StubHub “pocketed the difference.”

But in a new ruling, a federal judge says Christensen and her lawyers have got problems: She signed an arbitration agreement when she purchased her tickets, meaning she waived her legal right to sue StubHub over the dispute.

“[StubHub’s] notices explicitly notified Christensen that by signing into her account and by purchasing the tickets, she was agreeing to StubHub’s terms and conditions,” Judge Jamal N. Whitehead wrote in the Tuesday (April 7) decision, which was obtained by Billboard.

The ruling means that Christensen must instead pursue her accusations via arbitration, a private dispute resolution process, rather than federal litigation. Crucially, that means her case cannot be a class action — a big blow after her lawyers said they wanted to represent “hundreds of thousands if not millions” of people who allegedly faced similar treatment.

Reps for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment. Swift is not named in the lawsuit nor accused of any wrongdoing.

Christiansen sued StubHub in October, claiming she’d dropped five figures on tickets for Swift’s Vancouver show that were supposed to be directly in front of the stage, but that they were changed at the last minute to seats almost parallel with the stage and with a bad view of Swift.

“With less than forty minutes until the once-in-a-lifetime concert began, and with no alternative option or recourse provided by the defendant, Ms. Christensen was forced to use the inferior tickets that StubHub provided,” her attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. “StubHub exploits the consumer’s lack of alternatives and coerces them into using tickets that are significantly less valuable than those they purchased.”

Her attorneys claimed that the switcheroo violated StubHub’s “FanProtect Guarantee,” which promises fans that if tickets purchased aren’t legitimate, the company will “find you comparable or better tickets to the event” or offer a refund or credit.

Christensen’s case was just one of many legal battles sparked by the infamously pricey market for Swift’s tour, which wrapped in December 2024 with a record-shattering haul of more than $2 billion in face-value ticket sales over a two-year run. Numerous fans filed class action suits against Ticketmaster, and the Federal Trade Commission is suing an Eras re-seller who jacked up prices. Prosecutors in New York even filed criminal cases against a “cybercrime crew” that stole Eras tickets and resold them at a huge profit.

But in Tuesday’s decision, Judge Whitehead said the case was clearly barred by StubHub’s arbitration clause. He said a link to the terms “appears in legible text, positioned in immediate proximity to the action button,” and that Christensen had agreed to them when she bought the Swift tickets.

StubHub is hardly alone in forcing fans to sign arbitration agreements — a common requirement when purchasing tickets and other services from many companies. Live Nation is currently embroiled in a long-running lawsuit over the issue, in which an appeals court ruled that its arbitration clauses were “unconscionable and unenforceable” because they make it “impossible” for fans to fairly pursue claims against the company.

Latin music’s meteoric rise in the U.S. shows no signs of slowing down, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) annual report, revealed Thursday (April 9). Celebrating its tenth consecutive year of growth, 2025 marked a major milestone: $1 billion in wholesale revenue. While retail revenue had previously surpassed $1 billion in prior years, this marks the first time Latin music’s wholesale revenue alone has reached that milestone. This feat underscores the genre’s growing dominance, which now accounts for 8.8% of total U.S. recorded music revenue — the highest share in its history.

“With rising global reach and fresh pathways connecting artists and fans, this sector just keeps delivering as labels work to grow the market with innovative new partnerships and opportunities,” says Rafael Fernández Jr., RIAA’s senior vp of state public policy and Latin music, in a press release. “It’s great to see new generations discover and build on the sounds I grew up on in Miami, taking music to new places and breaking down walls between formats, services, genres and styles so more fans than ever can experience the lure of Latin music.”

Streaming remains the backbone of this expansion, delivering a staggering 98.2% of the genre’s earnings in 2025 — 0.2% higher than the previous year. Paid subscriptions alone raked in $557.5 million, making up more than half of total Latin music revenue. Easy access, diverse discovery, and an expanding menu of Latin music legends and buzzy newcomers have only strengthened Latin music’s grip on digital platforms and listener engagement.

“Latin music has been on the upswing for a decade, as artists keep breaking new ground and fostering a deeper connection with their fans,” adds Matt Bass, RIAA’s vp of research and gold & platinum operations. “Streaming remains the top driver, bringing in 98.2% of total revenue with its huge menu of traditional icons and new stars for anywhere, anytime listening. As technology advances, labels keep finding even more ways to listen, create, interact – pushing the boundaries of possibility and growth for Latin music.” 

The genre’s hitmakers like Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma, Karol G, Fuerza Regida and Rosalía have been instrumental in driving the genre’s streaming success. For instance, Bad Bunny released Debí Tirar Más Fotos on January 5, 2025 and immediately impacted the charts. He entered nine titles on the year-end Global Excl. U.S. Songs chart, and eight on the Global 200 roundup. Fuerza Regida also made a huge impact with 111XPANTIA across the charts, including debuting at No. 2 of the Billboard 200.

While streaming certainly took the lion’s share, other formats are quietly making their presence known. 2025 saw continued interest in physical formats, particularly vinyl, hinting at new opportunities to tap into superfans craving collectible music. Vinyl sales accounted for a small but vital 1.5% of Latin music earnings, validating the niche but significant demand for tangible releases.

According to IFPI’s recent Global Music report Latin America was the “fastest growing region in the world due largely to broadened access to streaming,” states the press release. “These parallel trajectories also indicate more room to grow fan-to-artist engagement and label investments continue to pay off with new experiences, connections and revenue streams.”

After his acclaimed “La Bachata” that reached No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay, Latin Airplay, and Billboard Argentina Hot 100 charts in 2022, Manuel Turizo was back at the studio cooking more bachata songs. 

“Te Creo,” in fact, was the first track he created almost more than a year ago for what would not only set the tone, but become his fifth studio album, Apambichao, out Thursday (April 9).  

“It sat there, saved as a guitar melody, and later I went on to record other things — but I never forgot it because of the vibe it gave me,” Turizo tells Billboard of the heartfelt bachata tune. “Little by little, you start compiling those energies. You begin weaving a thread that I hadn’t planned on, and I started to realize: this is vacation music.”

Mainly inspired by his summers in Coveñas, a beach near his hometown of Montería in Colombia, Apambichao is home to 13 tracks where Turizo steers away from his signature urban pop sound and seamlessly navigates from bachata to merengue to reggae to afrohouse and from corridos to música popular (regional Colombian music) to boleros. 

“There is a mixture of many things and influences,” the 25-year-old Colombian singer explains. “This has to do with my culture; it isn’t something planned, but rather something genuine and organic, drawn from what exists within my mental archive. I can’t really claim to be influenced by someone like Rihanna when, in truth, I grew up listening to Diomedes Díaz, Kaleth Morales, and Juan Luis Guerra. My ideas are bound to be shaped by that subconscious. It stems from those very flavors — from having been raised on suero, carimañolas, patacones, and arepas de huevo. So when the time comes to make music, that entire subconscious rises to the surface and speaks.”

The album’s name, Apambichao — which includes key collaborations with Maluma, Xavi, Dei V, Luis Alfonso, Emilia, Dalmata, and the late vallenato star Diomedes Díaz — derives from “pambiche,” a slower-tempo Dominican merengue style.

“The mood I was feeling—and the mindset I was living in—was literally just that: I wanted to go on vacation, enjoy life, and just kick back and relax,” Turizo elaborates. “And that is precisely the vibe that came through in the music I created. I felt like I was living in an eternal summer. It’s an album I made while having the time of my life. It’s a feeling.”

English punk group Lambrini Girls are a last-minute scratch from this weekend’s Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif. after singer/guitarist Phoebe Lunny revealed that she’s suffered a neck fracture and is getting treatment for what she described as an “acute brain injury.”

“A lot of you asking about why we are not on the @coachella lineup anymore,” the band wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday (April 9), in which they also revealed that all their previously scheduled North American headlining dates have been pushed back to this summer and fall due to the injury.

“We have to pull out of Coachella and reschedule our whole American headline tour,” the post read. “Long story short: I fractured my neck and have an acute brain injury.” Lunny also wrote that the injury took place on a recent Australian tour and that it was “misdiagnosed, late treatment, doctors orders are I can’t fly or perform for 6 weeks.”

The medically necessary performance pause, however, will not impact their scheduled U.K. and European shows, which are still slated to go forward in late May. Lunny included a cheeky picture of herself in a hospital gown in the post, in which she’s looking over her shoulder with her backside and legs exposed, surrounded by a series of broken heart emoji.

“To all American ticket holders: it’s dark times, especially in the states,” the post added. “There are so many good folks who are carving out community and lifting each other up in the face of fascism. Making space for subversion and resistance is at the core of what this band is about. Seeing people of all ages, genders and backgrounds come together to mosh, lift each other up, chant, cry, scream in both parts joyful and angry, is my greatest joy.”

Lunny noted that the group has received “quite a lot of messages” regarding their drop-off from the Coachella bill, saying they are “so gutted” to miss this weekend’s show. “We want to be there so badly. If it was a broken leg, I would do a Dave Grohl and play it,” she wrote in reference to the Foo Fighters lead singer who broke his leg during a show in Sweden in 2015 and then rallied and returned to the stage a month later to perform from a custom throne.

“This isn’t something we are taking lightly and we are really sad. We hope and pray there’s some universe we get to play next year instead,” she told fans. “Because it is my neck and brain, our hands are tied for now, but I’m lucky and expect a speedy recovery thank f–k lol.”

Check out the band’s rescheduled North American dates below.