Rapper Megan Thee Stallion is reportedly involved in record label drama, revealing in an Instagram Live video that her label is barring her from releasing new music, due to a contract she signed when she was 20-years-old, which she claimed to be exploitative.
The rapper revealed that 1501, one of the record labels that she’s currently signed to, is allegedly preventing her from releasing new music.
“1501 tryna tell me I can’t put out no music,” she said during the video. “[I]t’s real crazy because all I did was ask to renegotiate my contract, then it became a big ole thing. When I signed, I didn’t know really know what was in my contract. I was young, I think I was like 20,” she explained in the video.
Megan is now managed by Roc Nation, and under their guidance, she stated that she learned what her contract with 1501 actually entailed.
“When I got with Roc Nation, I got real management, I got real lawyers and they was like, ‘Do you know that this in your contract [with 1501?] And I was like “Oh damn, that’s crazy, no I didn’t know.”
She stated that after attempting to renegotiate, “It just all went bad, it all went left.”
Regarding her experience, she stated that from her perspective, “It’s really just like a greedy game. Wasn’t trying to leave the label, wasn’t tryna not give nobody money that they think they entitled to.”
After Megan broke this news, #FreeMeg and #FreeTheeStallion were trending on Twitter.
Relations with her label became more strained as of Monday, when the Houston rapper filed a lawsuit against 1501 Certified Entertainment and its owner, Carl Crawford.
In the lawsuit, Megan detailed the aspects of her record contract that she believes to be unfair. Megan said that her record deal states that 1501 Certified Entertainment receives 60% of her income that she earns from recording while she receives the remaining 40%. Megan stated that she foots the bill for engineers, mixers, and any featured artists on her songs, which she believes her label should do.
In her lawsuit Megan also claims that her live performances, financially, only benefit 1501. According to Megan’s contract, all money earned from her touring and live performances are to be directly paid to 1501 Certified, and the label is responsible for paying Megan what she is owed. Megan claims that 1501 have provided incomplete and “purposefully and deceptively vague” accounting information when it comes to those payments.
The rapper also claims that Crawford has used his relationship with Rap-a-Lot Records founder, J. Prince, to intimidate others in the music industry, stating that Crawford has pressured a producer to give him beats by asserting that J. Prince would be upset if he did not. She stated, “[J.] Prince is notorious in the industry for strong-armed intimidation tactics, and the comment was taken as a physical threat of harm.”
Megan also stated that she believes J. Prince has created an online smear campaign against her by circulating a story about her arrest which took place five years ago. The lawsuit states that Megan has only been paid $15,000 total by 1501, while estimations based on Megan’s streaming numbers and sales suggest that Megan in total has earned over $7 million.
Megan’s lawsuit is currently seeking at least $1 million in damages.
As for Crawford, his response was critical of both the numbers calculated by Megan’s team as well as their motivations for filing.
“Their real plan was to get you out of my contract so they can sign you to Roc Nation. That’s all they want to do,” Crawford said.
He continued, “We gave this girl a 60-40 split. Now go ask the artist about that. She got parts of her masters [the] first time. You think JAY-Z would have gave her part of her masters on her first deal with Roc Nation? F**k no. Then, she’s getting $100,000 a show and she don’t want to pay up. That’s what the issue was about. She signed with Roc Nation in August and decided she didn’t wanna pay me no more.”
While this situation will continue through a legal battle, Megan will still be able to make and release music.
After filing, a Harris County district judge in Texas granted Megan a temporary restraining order, which prevents 1501 from blocking the release of new music, which allowed for her to release her latest EP, “Suga.”
Photo Source: The Inquisitr
