Megan Thee Stallion should be celebrating the out-the-box success of her latest album, “Traumazine,” which debuted in the top five on the Billboard 200 chart. But she is in the midst of a legal battle with 1501 Certified Entertainment. She is trying to sever her ties with the Houston-based label.
She first filed a lawsuit to leave the label in February, but she just recently amended it. She is now requesting $1 million in damages in her lawsuit, Rolling Stone first reported. She blames the label for leaking material from “Traumazine.”
“There’s not a shred of evidence that we leaked ‘Traumazine.’ I don’t even think my guys would know how to leak it. Nor can I think of a motive. We participate with Megan in the profits. Why would we want to do that? It’s coming completely out of left field,” 1501’s lawyer Steven Zager told Rolling Stone.
The label, founded by former professional baseball Carl Crawford, also said Megan isn’t going anywhere as she has yet to fulfill her contractual obligations.
Whether she can leave the label all depends on the 2021 album “Something For The Hotties.” According to Megan, if “Hotties” is counted then “Traumazine” will be her last recording for 1501.
But 1501 said “Hotties” is not considered a full album under their standards, and Megan still owes them another album post “Traumazine.” “Hotties” is not considered an album, said 1501, because it features freestyles from YouTube and archival recordings. Under Megan’s contract with 1501, an album “must include at least 12 new master recordings of her studio performances of previously-unreleased musical compositions.”
Megan recently slammed 1501 Certified on Twitter and noted she was wrapping up with the label. She tweeted, “Thank you hotties for rocking with me through the bullshit WE ALMOST OUT LETS STAY FOCUSED AND RUN THIS LAST ONE UP.”
In her lawsuit, Megan says her request of at least $1 million in damages comes from her claim that she has already fulfilled her debt to 1501 Certified and should be rewarded for her “entirely one-sided” contract, Complex reported.
The three-time Grammy Award winner has a net worth of $8 million.
She also claims that 1501 allegedly withheld payment for her share of the royalties on her music.In her suit, she said that 60 percent of her recording income goes to the label, as opposed to a traditional 50-50 split.
But 1501 shot back that the artist still owes the brand “many millions” for work outside of creating music, such as touring, endorsing and merchandising.
Three years ago, Megan started her exit from 1501 by hiring Jay-Z’s Roc Nation as her management team.
