Megan Thee Stallion has filed a new lawsuit again her record label 1501 Certified Entertainment, with whom she has a "long and tortured history" of legal issues — this time for the exclusivity of their definition of what's considered a proper album.
Filed last Friday (February 18), the suit [as obtained by Billboard] claims that 1501 Certified Entertainment is preventing the Hottie-in-Chief from fulfilling her contractual obligations with the label by refusing to acknowledge her Something for Thee Hotties project as an "album."
Something for Thee Hotties — co-titled From Thee Archives — was a compilation the artist released last October, featuring the single "Thot Shit," as a thank-you gift to her fans and follow-up to her debut album, 2020's Good News. The collection debuted at No. 5 on the US Billboard 200.
The new complaint sees the rapper seeking "a declaration that her album, Something for Thee Hotties, constituted an 'album' as defined in the parties' recording agreement." 1501 allegedly told Meg more than two months after the release that they did not consider the project to "meet the definition of an 'Album' under her recording agreement and, therefore, allegedly does not satisfy her 'Minimum Recording Commitment.'"
According to the lawsuit, the label's sole defining requirement of what makes an album, as per the artist's contract, is the runtime of the body of work. The minimum album length is 45 minutes, and Something for Thee Hotties has a runtime of 45 minutes and two seconds — so it should more than fulfil the contract.
Born Megan Pete, the rapper's defence claim that the label's delayed position on the issue betrays "an effort to try to take further advantage of [her], at great expense and not in good faith."
Pete is now seeking non-monetary relief "in the form of a declaratory judgment," as well as the recovery of attorney fees and costs.
This isn't the first incidence that the recent wave of artists digging into their archival material has resulted in contractual changes by companies looking to ensure musicians make enough new material — whatever their definition of "enough" is.
Megan Thee Stallion will make her acting debut in an A24 R-rated musical adaptation called F*cking Identical Twins, in addition to producing her own Netflix series.
Filed last Friday (February 18), the suit [as obtained by Billboard] claims that 1501 Certified Entertainment is preventing the Hottie-in-Chief from fulfilling her contractual obligations with the label by refusing to acknowledge her Something for Thee Hotties project as an "album."
Something for Thee Hotties — co-titled From Thee Archives — was a compilation the artist released last October, featuring the single "Thot Shit," as a thank-you gift to her fans and follow-up to her debut album, 2020's Good News. The collection debuted at No. 5 on the US Billboard 200.
The new complaint sees the rapper seeking "a declaration that her album, Something for Thee Hotties, constituted an 'album' as defined in the parties' recording agreement." 1501 allegedly told Meg more than two months after the release that they did not consider the project to "meet the definition of an 'Album' under her recording agreement and, therefore, allegedly does not satisfy her 'Minimum Recording Commitment.'"
According to the lawsuit, the label's sole defining requirement of what makes an album, as per the artist's contract, is the runtime of the body of work. The minimum album length is 45 minutes, and Something for Thee Hotties has a runtime of 45 minutes and two seconds — so it should more than fulfil the contract.
Born Megan Pete, the rapper's defence claim that the label's delayed position on the issue betrays "an effort to try to take further advantage of [her], at great expense and not in good faith."
Pete is now seeking non-monetary relief "in the form of a declaratory judgment," as well as the recovery of attorney fees and costs.
This isn't the first incidence that the recent wave of artists digging into their archival material has resulted in contractual changes by companies looking to ensure musicians make enough new material — whatever their definition of "enough" is.
Megan Thee Stallion will make her acting debut in an A24 R-rated musical adaptation called F*cking Identical Twins, in addition to producing her own Netflix series.
