Ellie Goulding sues former managers over undisclosed Live Nation stake

Ellie Goulding filed a lawsuit in the United Kingdom on July 24 against her former managers Benedict Mawson and Edward Millett of TaP Management, as well as against the parent company of that agency, HNOE Limited. The singer, known for songs like "Lights" and "On My Mind," accuses them of breaching their fiduciary duty toward her as a client.

The heart of the case revolves around ownership arrangements that Goulding claims she was never informed about. Live Nation acquired a 50.1 percent stake in HNOE, the parent company of TaP Management, in 2015. In 2019, the company bought up the remaining shares as well, giving it full control over the management agency. Goulding signed with TaP in 2018 and remained a client there until 2025, meaning she was with them throughout the entire period that Live Nation was effectively the owner of her management company.

According to the complaint, Mawson and Millett were bound by contractual obligations to Live Nation and were not permitted to actively steer artists in their care away from deals with that company. Despite this, they allegedly directed Goulding on multiple occasions to do business with Live Nation and its affiliated companies, including in the areas of concert promotion, merchandise, and a documentary film. The court was asked to determine whether this constitutes a breach of the obligation to act as a manager solely in the artist's best interest. The filing states, as quoted by several outlets: "Each of the Defendants had a personal interest or duty in dealings between Ms. Goulding and companies in the Live Nation group, which was in actual or potential conflict with the interests of Ms Goulding in securing the best commercial terms with whichever promoter, merchandiser, or other counterparty it was most advantageous for her to deal with."

Goulding is seeking financial damages in an amount still to be determined. Live Nation is not a defendant in the case and is not accused of any wrongdoing by Goulding. The company said it had no comment on the matter. Representatives for Mawson, Millett, and TaP did not respond to requests for comment, and Goulding's own spokesperson also declined to provide any substantive statement.

At the time Goulding joined in 2018, TaP Management was considered a leading agency, with artists such as Lana Del Rey and Dua Lipa on its roster at that point. Lipa has since left the agency. Goulding herself was still fresh in the public's memory at the time thanks to her 2015 album Delirium, which reached number three on both the UK and US album charts. The case shines a broader light on the layered ownership structures within the music industry, where major companies like Live Nation hold stakes in management agencies, and raises the question of how transparently that needs to be communicated to artists.