Happy Monday, I’m Eriq Gardner.

Welcome back to The Rainmaker, my private newsletter focused on the most significant legal power plays across Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Washington, and Wall Street.

This week, I’m previewing what will likely become one of the most significant trials in the history of the music industry. Plus: Elon Musk and Twitter have a date in Delaware Chancery; a racketeering suit is brought against Real Housewives star Erika Jayne; an appeals court recognizes the comedy stylings of Sacha Baron Cohen; and copyright lawyers go bananas.

But first…

This week, I had the chance to catch up with her about a mutual interest—W.N.B.A. superstar Brittney Griner’s legal predicament after being arrested in the country for drug possession...

P.S. As a reminder, you're receiving the free version of The Rainmaker at . For full access to Puck, and to each of my colleagues, you can subscribe here.

I was thinking about this the first day of July when the government handed down a decision literally worth billions of dollars, which, not surprisingly, was also pretty much ignored by the nation’s leading news outlets. Who has the patience, after all, to deconstruct a decision by the obscure Copyright Royalty Board to increase the royalty rate that streamers must pay publishers and songwriters from 10.5 percent to 15.1 percent? Or tackle how this might impact an even bigger upcoming trial with no less than $7.8 billion on the line? A few trade publications? Maybe. Anyone else?

The music business can feel at times like it exists on some labyrinthian and inscrutable plane, which may explain why few reporters dare touch it. But it’s also a subject that impacts pretty much everyone. What’s more, the business of tunes is arguably one of America’s most regulated industries, at least with respect to pricing. That’s been so for about a century, even if few ever think about the distribution of songs that way...