Ellie Goulding Sues Former Management Firm Over Alleged Live Nation Conflict

Ellie Goulding is suing her former management company in the U.K., alleging that its financial ties to Live Nation created an undisclosed conflict of interest during the years it represented her. According to a lawsuit, Goulding claims TaP Management failed to tell her that Live Nation had acquired the company while repeatedly encouraging her to work with Live Nation and its subsidiaries.

Goulding was represented by TaP from 2018 until 2025. The management company was founded in 2010 by Benedict Mawson and Edward Millett. Live Nation acquired a 50.1% stake in TaP through its parent company, HNOE, in 2015, before purchasing the remaining interest in 2019. Goulding alleges that she was never informed about Live Nation's ownership of the management firm despite the company's role in advising her on major commercial decisions.

The lawsuit points to several deals involving Live Nation and its subsidiaries, including concert promotion, merchandise and a documentary. Goulding claims Mawson, Millett and HNOE had financial or commercial interests in those transactions and therefore stood to benefit from her doing business with companies within the Live Nation group.

Goulding's complaint specifically alleges that the defendants had an interest in transactions involving Live Nation that conflicted with her own interest in choosing whichever promoter, merchandiser or business partner offered her the best deal. The singer is not alleging that she was simply unhappy with individual agreements; rather, her case centers on whether TaP's ownership structure should have been disclosed and whether its connection to Live Nation influenced the advice she received.

Mawson, Millett and TaP are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Live Nation is not. The defendants did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone's request for comment, while a representative for Goulding declined to comment. The allegations have not been proven in court, and the defendants will have an opportunity to respond as the case proceeds.

Goulding joined TaP in 2018, when the firm's roster also included artists such as Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey. During her time with the company, she released Brightest Blue in 2020 and Higher Than Heaven in 2023. Her 2015 album Delirium, released before she joined TaP, had reached No. 3 on both the U.K. and U.S. album charts and included the hit single “On My Mind.”

The singer and TaP parted ways in December 2025 after roughly eight years together, although accounts of how the split happened have differed. A source cited by The Sun said Goulding left the arrangement as she entered 2026, focused on her family and the arrival of her second child. A separate source described as being close to TaP said the company resigned from representing Goulding on Dec. 9 and that, after eight years, the decision was in the interests of both sides.

The lawsuit comes as Goulding prepares to begin a new chapter in her career, with her sixth studio album, I Know Too Much, scheduled for release Sept. 4.

Goulding is seeking unspecified compensation, damages, and other relief.