Megan Thee Plaintiff

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Hot Girl Lawsuit?

Yesterday, award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion made headlines when PEOPLE obtained court documents that outline Megan’s request for $1 million in relief from the Houston-based record label 1501.

With artists selling their catalogs, and highly publicized legal disputes between artists and their biz partners— think Kesha versus Dr. Luke and Taylor Swift versus Scooter Braun— this story is an interesting case study in the music industry, a master class on lawsuits, and an important reminder to do your homework before signing a contract.

Let’s start at the beginning.

In 2018, Megan signed with the label 1501 Certified Entertainment— a label owned by former baseball pro Carl Crawford. The exact nitty-gritty of this initial contract is unclear, but based on what’s been made public by both Megan’s lawyers and 1501’s lawyers, it seems like the contract outlined several requirements of the partnership; like, the number of albums Megan would release under the label, particular timing criteria of those albums, what exactly constitutes an album, and how Megan and the label would split royalties and ancillary profit from things like touring, merch, and so on.

As Rolling Stone writes, it’s standard in the music industry to split recording profits 50-50 between the artist and the label. However, Megan’s deal with 1501 allotted 1501 60 percent of the recording income— and, payments to outside parties such as producers coming out of Megan’s paycheck. The contract also gave the label a 30 percent cut of touring and merch profit.

Megan didn’t know her contract was unusual, until in 2019 (one year into her contract with 1501), she hired Roc Nation— a management firm that represents other heavy-hitters like Alicia Keys and Rihanna. On Twitter, Megan has posted videos telling her fans about how she was shocked when Roc Nation told her that she was getting paid under the industry standard. 1501 has claimed that until she signed with Roc Nation, she was happy with her contract, and that this contentious legal battle is part of a larger goal to replace 1501 with Roc Nation.

Honestly... they’re probably right, but what kind of an argument is that? That Megan was happy with her contract... until she realized it was shitty? Yeah‚ that totally makes sense— of course she would want to bring on a management team that is promising her more money. But whether or not it makes financial sense for Megan to get out of her contract with 1501, and whether she has a legal right to get out of her contract with 1501, are two different questions.

Enter the lawsuits.

In 2020, Megan filed a lawsuit against 1501 claiming that the label was preventing her from releasing new music after she tried to renegotiate her contract. That year, she won a restraining order against her label, and in 2021, she reached a settlement with the label that updated her contract. But, that settlement also upheld certain portions of the initial contract; notably, that she needed to deliver two new albums before she could consider her contract fulfilled. Since then, Megan has put out collections of music Something for Thee Hotties and Traumazine.

This is where things get a little hairy, but from what I can tell, in early 2022, 1501 told Megan that they would not be counting Something for Thee Hotties as an album that fulfills her contractual quota. The label argued the project didn’t meet the contractual requirements necessary to call itself an album in a number of ways, including the fact that the collection is only 45 minutes long, it features freestyles available on YouTube and archival material from as far back as 2019, and was released too soon after her previous 2020 album Good News. Then, in February 2022 Megan sued the label in a move aimed at getting Something for Thee Hotties recognized as an album, and then 1501 countersued.

Cut to the present.

The latest court documents from Megan’s legal team argue that not only should Megan be released from her contract, but she should also be awarded 1 million dollars of relief. I have a quote from Megan’s lawyers, but before I share it, I want to reveal yet another shocking discovery from these documents: Megan’s last name is PETE! Did you know that?! What a very unremarkable name for such a remarkable artist. It is really bizarre going through these documents and reading Megan’s lawyers refer to her as “Pete.” Anyway, Megan’s lawyers say that her label’s classification of Something for Thee Hotties is “clearly a ruse in an effort to try to take further advantage of Pete, at great expense and in bad faith.” Side-note: I was really hoping her last name was Stallion. It will always be Stallion to me.

Anyway, the latest court documents make it clear that Megan’s legal team is anticipating that 1501 will argue that Traumazine, Megan’s latest project totaling over 51 minutes, does not count toward her album quota either. However, 1501 is still deliberating. Steven Zager, a lawyer that represents 1501, says that the label has tried to work with Megan and wants her to be successful, but they feel that they’re owed at least one more album. Zager also claims that Megan’s legal team added the $1 million relief payment to the lawsuit for “impact.” And, in fact, Zager alleges that Megan owes 1501 more than one million dollars for their cut of things like touring, endorsements, merchandising and more.

What's next?

Hopefully, the truth will come out soon. Megan is due for an in-person deposition in October 2022, and the trial is expected to fall after May 2023. But, I think we can expect to see the court of public opinion passing judgment before then. If Megan tells her fans that she can’t release new music until this legal issue is resolved, they may revolt and put public pressure on 1501 to resolve the contract dispute quickly.

And to 1501 if you’re reading this or any publisher of any creator content out there— sometimes you don’t settle these deals because of the money you make from this client but the reputation you keep for the next one. Life is long and the world is small, especially in different entertainment industry niches. People talk. I know, it’s not a hot take. But do you think the next raising music star is going to want to sign with you after hearing all this? No chance. But there is a chance if you act in everyone’s best interest in accordance with the spirit of the deal, rather than just what the deal actually says. People want to work with people that abide by principles and the spirit of the deal not just legalese. Don’t do it for Megan Pete… do it for the next Megan Thee Stallion.

xo,

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