Photo Credit: Alfred Marroquin / CC by 3.0
Megan Thee Stallion is seeking $1 million in damages from her label 1501 Entertainment. She also says her latest album fulfills her contractual obligation to the Houston label.
The initial lawsuit was filed in February 2022 and sought non-monetary relief. But now the rapper has amended the complaint to seek damages and release from the contract. The complaint says Traumazine, her newest album released on August 12, “both constitute an ‘album’ as defined in the parties’ ‘recording agreement,’ and therefore Megan ‘has satisfied all option periods’ in her contract.”
Megan Thee Stallion has been locked in a legal battle with her label, 1501 Entertainment, since March 2020. The rapper has posted to social media about her efforts to remove herself from the contract she signed as a young artist.
Former baseball player Carl Crawford owns the label and has pushed back against Megan’s claims that she has satisfied the album requirements. The label claims Something For Thee Hotties is less than an album. 1501 Entertainment also contends that Megan Thee Stallion still owes the label “millions” from her activities like touring, endorsements, merchandising, and other commercial efforts.
The rapper hired Roc Nation as her management firm in September 2019 and the filing alleges this action irked 1501 Entertainment. In the amended complaint, the rapper says Roc Nation helped her understand the contract she signed was not in keeping with industry standards.
The contract has a 60/40 split of recording income in 1501 Entertainment’s favor. Payments to outside parties (producers, sound engineers) must come out of her 40%. The initial contract also gives 1501 Entertainment a 30% cut of her touring and merchandising profits.
Megan Thee Stallion says she believes 1501 Entertainment was the source of the August 4 leak of her latest album, Traumazine. She says the leak left her no choice but to release the work early and that she’s been hired to hire “forensic investigators to determine the source of the leaks.”
1501 Entertainment counter-sued Megan Thee Stallion in March 2021 with new claims. The label says the rapper “must include at least twelve new master recordings of her studio performances of previously-unreleased musical compositions” for a release to qualify as an album. Megan Thee Stallion will sit for an in-person deposition in October, and discovery for the case won’t close until 2023.