A federal judge has allowed part of Blast Off Media’s lawsuit against Downtown Music to proceed, finding that the company may have breached their distribution contract by ending it immediately. The dispute matters because Blast Off alleges it was abandoned to protect Downtown’s $775 million sale to Universal Music Group, while Downtown says it acted against alleged YouTube rule-breaking and streaming fraud.

Judge Paul Engelmayer dismissed several parts of the case but said Downtown was contractually required to give Blast Off 30 days to address alleged breaches. Blast Off, which provides music for YouTube creators, signed with Downtown in August 2025 and is seeking $375 million after the partnership ended; Downtown maintains Blast Off’s business model relied on improper content reuse and could not be fixed.