Artists signing dodgy and unfair record deals is a tale older than time. Megan Thee Stallion has become one of the latest pop profiles to be facing an ongoing legal battle regarding herself and independent record label 1501 Certified Entertainment.
So far, there have been four lawsuits filed. In March 2020, Megan sued 1501 for allegedly stopping her from releasing new music, requesting that the judge throw out her contract with the label. She claims that when she signed, she “wasn’t aware of what was in her contract.”
Under the contract, she receives 40% of the recording profits, while 1501 receives the remaining 60%. An industry standard is often a 50-50 percent split. The 360 deal also states that Megan must give profits from sectors such as publishing, tour and merchandise, something labels usually can’t claim a split on.
Megan has claimed on now deleted Instagram posts that she has received no payments from her label while being signed.
She later signed a management deal with Roc Nation who advised her that her current contract was exploitive. When she attempted to renegotiate her contract with 1501, the label barred her from releasing new music. In March, 2022, she won a court battle to instate a temporary restraining order against 1501.
1501 Certified Entertainment then later barred her from releasing a remix with K-Pop artists BTS on their song ‘Butter.’ In August 2021, she filed and won a suit against the label, claiming that barring the release of the track would cause “irreparable damage” to her career.
Another lawsuit was later filed by Megan in February 2022. She claims that her recent album, ‘Something for the Hotties,’ meets the definition of an album with its 45 minute and two second run time.
The fourth lawsuit was filed by 1501, countersuing Megan on March 21 2022, claiming that ‘Something…’ does not fulfil the requirements in the contract to be deemed an album. 1501 claims that it is not considered an album because it does not fulfil the 45-minute definition as it contains previously released material and spoken word interludes Megan does not appear on. The label claims that there is only 29 minutes of original material.
Megan claims in a series of tweets that ‘Something…’ was signed off to count as an album before the label counter sued.
Megan has expressed her desire to terminate the contract, claiming that label executive Carl Crawford added jewellery and chains to an expense report.
If Megan wins this court case, the album will count towards the fulfilment of her contract, therefore terminating it. If the courts side with 1501, Megan will be contractually obligated to release two more albums under the label.
The legal battles are on-going.
