American rapper, Megan Thee Stallion, has filed a new lawsuit against her record label, ‘1501 Certified Entertainment’, over a disagreement about what constitutes an album.
The dispute is about her 2021 release, ‘Something For Thee Hotties’, which was classed as a mixtape. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in its first week of release.
In the filed lawsuit, Megan’s team noted that the release “clearly meets the definition of an Album”. Megan’s team further alleged that ‘1501’ wants to “tie [Megan] down” for its own “financial benefit”. Her legal team believes the label wants to keep her locked in her contract for longer, so they can profit from her sales.
It is worth mentioning that record deals are usually signed with an agreement of how many albums the artist will release, before they can renegotiate or leave the label.
Megan and 1501 in Public feud
This isn’t the first time Megan has had a conflict with her record label. In 2020, she started a previous lawsuit against ‘1501’, claiming they were blocking her from releasing new music because she wanted to renegotiate the terms of her contract.
On Instagram Live at the time, she said: “When I signed, I didn’t really know what was in my contract. I was young. I think I was like 20, and I didn’t know everything that was in my contract”.
According to some reports, the case has since been dropped, and the label allowed her to release her music.
Recently, 1501 boss, Carl Crawford, posted an image on Instagram, referencing the resolved lawsuit from 2020.
Megan shared a screenshot of his post on her Instagram, which she later deleted. She said Crawford “never know [what] is going on with business.”
“We are most definitely STILL IN COURT and YOU ARE STILL GETTING SUED BECAUSE YOU OWE ME MONEY! I AINT NEVER BEEN PAID FROM 1501 IN MY LIFE!”
Megan
The new lawsuit isn’t seeking payment from ‘1501’, except for legal fees, only recognition that ‘Something for Thee Hotties’ is an album, per the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit filed by Megan’s lawyers, it said: “‘Something for Thee Hotties’ clearly meets the definition of ‘Album’ under the recording agreement because it is not less than forty-five (45) minutes in length.”
According to the lawyers, a length of 45 minutes or more is the only requirement in Megan’s contract to define what constitutes an album.
The lawsuit read in parts: “1501’s new position, taken months after the album’s release, is clearly a ruse in an effort to try to take further advantage of [Megan], at great expense and not in good faith”.
In the 2021 Grammy’s, Megan took home Best New Artist. She also won Best Rap Performance with Beyoncé, and Best Rap Song for ‘Savage (Remix)’. She first gained attention when videos of her freestyling became popular on social media platforms such as Instagram.
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