Lady Gaga will not have to stop selling Mayhem album and tour merchandise after a surf company lost its legal bid for a trademark infringement injunction against the pop superstar.

It’s a key win for Gaga (Stefani Germanotta) in the lawsuit filed back in March by Lost Surfboards, which has been selling surf equipment and apparel emblazoned with the word “Mayhem” since the 1980s. The company alleged the artwork for Gaga’s chart-topping album, Mayhem, infringed its logo, and it sought to bar her from putting it on merch for her ongoing Mayhem Ball tour.  

Judge Fernando M. Olguin rejected that initial request on Monday (Dec. 15), saying there’s little merit to the trademark infringement claims. While technically not a final ruling, the judge’s decision strongly indicates that he will not allow the case to make it to trial.

“Because defendant’s use of the mark is artistically relevant and does not explicitly mislead consumers as to the source or content of the challenged work, the Lanham Act does not apply, and [plaintiff] cannot succeed on its claims for trademark infringement and false designation of origin,” wrote Judge Olguin.

Gaga’s lead attorney, Orin Snyder of Gibson Dunn, celebrated the decision as a “total victory” on Monday.

“It reaffirms that trademark law cannot be used to censor expressive works or chill artistic expression,” said Snyder. “We are pleased with the court’s clear and decisive ruling.”

Meanwhile, Lost Surfboards’ attorney Keith Bremer said they will keep fighting.

“While we would have preferred a different outcome at this preliminary stage, we respect the court’s reasoning and look forward to continuing this process,” Bremer told Billboard in a Monday statement. “Our commitment to protecting the MAYHEM® trademark we’ve built over nearly four decades remains unchanged.”

The next step in the case will be for Gaga’s attorneys to file a motion to dismiss the claims. Bremer also suggested in his statement that Lost Surfboards could be interested in settling: “We remain open to a constructive dialogue that protects consumers from confusion while allowing artists to express themselves,” said the lawyer.

Mayhem, Lady Gaga’s seventh studio album, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March and has spent 39 weeks on the chart. Her supporting Mayhem Ball world arena tour began in July and grossed over $100 million on its first North American leg alone. The tour is now in Australia and is set to run through April 2026.

Emmanuel de Buretel is still buzzing from the weekend when he speaks to Billboard over Zoom on a Tuesday evening in Paris.

Seventy-two hours earlier, de Buretel was in the crowd watching Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter perform his first DJ set in 16 years, in what instantly became a headline-generating, dance-music-history-making moment. Performed alongside fellow electronic luminaries Busy P, Erol Alkan and Fred again.., the set also functioned as an exclamation point on Because Beaubourg, an exhibition that took over Paris’ Centre Pompidou museum complex and welcomed 40,000 visitors over three days.  

The occasion was the 20th anniversary of Because Music, the indie label de Buretel co-founded with Eric Bielsa in 2005. The exhibition featured immersive installations, talks, performances and even a roller disco, all inspired by Because’s two decades of artists, music and culture.

“We don’t like the auto-congratulation of anniversaries,” de Buretel says. “But the speech to my people this morning was that we’ve had big challenges in proving record companies have to change very quickly in the way they do their job, and this event was a total symbol of what an independent record company should be.”

De Buretel cites receiving congratulatory emails from Because believers like Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett and Diplo, whose group Major Lazer is signed to Because in select territories. The roster also includes indie pop outfit Parcels, underground electronic acts including Oklou, Snow Strippers, Shygirl and Bambii, veteran electronic acts like Justice and Cerrone, indie titan Christine and the Queens and the output of revered French label Ed Banger, which includes the work of artists like Justice, Myd, SebastiAn and more. Because also acts as business manager for the legacy of Daft Punk, a duo de Buretel originally signed to Virgin in the 1990s. The Because Group now encompasses Because Music and the publishing arm Because Editions, along with several venues, a festival and multiple booking agencies.  

These structures create homes and opportunities for music that de Buretel says is coming from an ever-wider cross-section of the world.

“Most of the new generation is multinational and multicultural, and the music moves at a faster pace. The subjects explored are quite advanced — genres, cultures, religions, the environment. It’s an especially exciting and interesting moment, particularly as Because aims to position itself as a truly multinational and multi-cultural record label.”

De Buretel and Bielsa founded Because after they both departed major labels in the early 2000s. De Buretel had been in leadership positions at Virgin Records and EMI, signing acts like Daft Punk and Air, with Bielsa also coming from EMI.

The label’s multinational, multicultural aim was present from the very beginning, with Because’s first release being Dimanche à Bamako, the Grammy-nominated 2005 collaborative album from Malian couple Amadou & Mariam and French/Spanish legend Manu Chao. Over the last two decades, the label has signed roughly 70 other acts.

“At the beginning of Because we had to break an artist every year,” says de Buretel. “If we didn’t break one album a year, we could’ve been bankrupt, because you had to make a living with one album when you didn’t have a back catalog.”

Focusing on one artist at a time was a dramatically different business model than at the majors and the distributors, which de Buretel says “have too many acts to develop. They have only three or four months to work on each project, so they need to be fast when it comes to distribution and success.”

Instead, the guiding philosophy at Because is giving artists years to develop. Curating a trim but mighty roster and focusing on long-term artist development have been key to Because’s track record, with the label taking seven to 10 years to cultivate its biggest acts, like Justice.

“We’ve been patient, and we grow little by little, and they have all succeeded,” de Buretel says.  

Keeping a tight roster requires betting on often relatively unknown acts who may not yet be streaming juggernauts or have giant social media followings. For de Buretel, that’s okay. “We are very mathematical and data-oriented, but not to sign artists,” he says. “It’s always good when the artist you want to sign has good numbers, but the numbers don’t make the artist.”

Instead, he focuses on raw talent and authenticity, finding that many of the most exciting new acts come from underground scenes. “It’s important to understand that very often, the art of tomorrow comes from the street rather than from galleries,” he says. “Basquiat was from the street, Keith Haring was from the street. Punk and rap came from the street, not from schools.”

Newer Because artists who’ve emerged from such scenes include the underground electronic acts Snow Strippers and Oklou, along with Belgian rapper Shay, with part of the label’s strategy being to invest serious money in new names. “When we put a big advance on Snow Strippers, it’s a big risk if you don’t know your business,” says de Buretel. “Me, I’m sure they’re going to be big.”

Signing relatively few artists annually requires stringent quality control, which de Buretel and his team assure by only bringing on acts whose live shows are as culture-shaking as their recorded work. “At the beginning, everybody was laughing at us, saying, ‘You still focus on live when TikTok is the future?’” he says. “But one of my key decision-making processes when I sign an artist is to check how strong they are live.”

Acts who pass muster receive the full attention of de Buretel and his roughly 140-person team, based in offices in Paris, London and Los Angeles and working across digital marketing, production, touring, publishing and live. Because operates two Paris venues, the 250-capacity La Boule Noire and the 1,500-capacity La Cigale, and also co-founded the city’s longstanding We Love Green festival, which this year entered a strategic partnership with AEG and French media company Combat5, with an eye on international expansion. 

Simultaneously, de Buretel says Because focuses on “being the best toolbox for our big artists like Daft Punk, who we do everything for, from records to publishing to IP.” This work with Daft Punk recently included co-creating The Daft Punk Experience for online video game Fortnite, in what was the biggest activation in the history of Epic Games’ flagship IP.

“Artists need people like us,” says de Buretel. “They need catalyzers; they need filters; they need workers, and the clients we serve are very happy of the job we do.” 

De Buretel says Because’s annual gross profit margin is 24%, a number that’s buoyed by the label’s international focus.

“When we signed Christine and the Queens and told Christine to mix English and French, and that we intended to sell the music outside of France, Christine was very surprised and excited,” de Buretel recalls of the French artist’s 2015 eponymous debut album. De Buretel reports that the project ultimately sold 1.5 million equivalent album units worldwide, with 50% of sales happening outside of France.

“It’s the same thing today,” de Buretel continues. “For Justice or Shygirl, the number one territory is the U.S., and sometimes number two is Mexico. We decided from the beginning to be worldwide and to market artists internationally, which isn’t exactly what’s happening at major labels or distributors. They have so many artists that they don’t have the time, money, or people to market them worldwide. They have to prioritize.”

This boutique approach is paying off not just in revenue and global success, but in accolades. In 2025, Because added a Grammy and an Academy Award to its achievements via wins by Justice and French singer Camille, with the former winning best dance/electronic recording for their 2024 Tame Impala collab “Neverender” and the latter for best original song for Emilia Perez’s “El Mal.” Justice also clocked the first No. 1 in its nearly 20-year history when “Neverender” reached the peak of Alternative Airplay in February.  

Because’s London office recently moved into a new building in the city’s hip Shoreditch neighborhood, and in 2026, the Paris office will also relocate to Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement, a transition precipitated by a critical mass of Because employees moving to that area. “We always follow our employees’ wishes and move with the new generation,” says de Buretel. “It’s going to be a very nice move for us.”

He’s also continuing to invest in Because’s longstanding relationships with entities like Merlin, other indie labels and the majors, feeling that they’re all in it together in terms of “the structures in front of us, huge icebergs called Google, Amazon, Apple.”

“Right now, what I see with Google is that they’re very nice, very proactive and they have a fantastic music team,” he continues. “But when it comes to deals, we still don’t accept that there is a difference in value in the way they pay an artist from an independent company and an artist from a major. It’s totally unacceptable that they don’t receive the same amount also regarding short formats; artists should be paid [the same] as they are for videos, which is not the case.”

But despite challenges that can appear existential, de Buretel is confidently leading the label forward, implementing new strategies and celebrating the past while looking to the future.

“The company has changed significantly over the last seven years,” he says. “We now operate worldwide with a direct-to-platform model, without intermediaries, supported by our own in-house audience marketing, digital marketing and promotional teams. We are an international development company for new artists and catalogues, as we are the antithesis of a traditional distributor. We believe we have built the needed record company of tomorrow for international developing artists and catalogues.”

Editors note: A version of this article in the Dec. 13 print issue incorrectly stated that Because Music signed electronic duo Fcukers, who are in fact signed to Ninja Tune. Billboard regrets the error.

It might only be December, but Jung Kook already has spring fever — because that’s when the members of BTS will finally make their comeback.

As unveiled Monday (Dec. 15), the K-pop performer is Elle Korea‘s latest cover star, gracing the front of not one, not two, but nine different variants of the magazine’s new issue. While promoting his partnership with Chanel Beauty, Jung Kook teased that the first half of 2026 is about to be major.

“I think this spring will be more important than ever,” he said ahead of BTS’ return. “So I sincerely hope you all have a safe and enjoyable spring.”

Jung Kook and his bandmates RM, Suga, V and Jimin were discharged from the South Korean military in June, shortly after which they reunited on camera with j-hope and Jin to announce that a new BTS album and tour were in the works. In October, RM teased ARMY by saying, “Please look forward to late March.”

While they were apart, the septet focused on individual projects. Jung Kook last dropped solo music more than a year ago, releasing “Never Let Go” in the summer of 2024.

Now, the Bangtan Boys are hard at work preparing new material for fans. On that front, Jung Kook shared what he thinks makes music “good” while speaking with the publication.

“I think good music is still a song with a good message and good lyrics,” he said. “Music that transcends seasons and genres, and songs that can give strength to anyone.”

See Jung Kook on the cover of Elle Korea below.