Ellie Goulding performing live. Photo Credit: Moiyeah
Ellie Goulding is suing her former managers, TaP Music co-founders Ben Mawson and Ed Millett, for allegedly failing to disclose Live Nation’s ownership stake in their business.
Hereford-born Goulding just recently submitted the complaint to a UK court, weeks after joining WME and returning to Sarah Stennett’s First Access.
As laid out by Variety, the lawsuit is straightforward enough: The above-noted TaP co-founders managed Goulding between 2018 and 2025, during which time the “Lights” act embarked on a pair of Live Nation-promoted tours, 2021’s Brightest Blue Tour and 2023’s Higher Than Heaven Tour.
Furthermore, merch, a documentary, and different elements factored into Goulding’s dealings with the Ticketmaster parent. And to reiterate the obvious, it was the two-time Grammy nominee’s then-managers who played a key role in the all-important talks at hand.
But what they allegedly failed to tell Goulding – and what the artist allegedly learned only last year – was that TaP’s parent, HNOE, had sold a majority stake to Live Nation back in 2015.
From there, the promoter scooped up the remaining 49.9% of the company in 2019; the involved parties detailed the transaction in multiple Companies House filings as opposed to press releases.
And with few entertainment professionals in the habit of combing through regulatory docs for ownership changes, the development allegedly flew under Goulding’s radar. Additionally, Mawson is said to have been named CEO while reporting directly to Live Nation.
That is, of course, a big deal indeed given that he was also meant to be negotiating on Goulding’s behalf. Now, the everystate founder is seeking relief for the alleged conflict of interest.
The defendants hadn’t commented publicly on the suit at the time of writing, but we’ll learn more about their position and the claims themselves as the legal battle unfolds.
Regardless of how the courtroom confrontation proceeds, though, the allegations probably won’t sit right with TaP’s current roster, including Lana Del Rey. Moreover, nothing was stopping Goulding from discussing the alleged conflict of interest prior to suing, and with matters like this, word tends to get around.
At the intersection of both points, has the episode been fueling TaP departures in the background during the past year and change? Perhaps. According to a June 2025 Wayback Machine screengrab, the entity’s management roster has since shrunk from 23 to 12 artists, with Purity Ring, Mabel, and Caroline Polachek among the ex-clients.
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