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Roc Nation responds to Rita Ora litigation, though settlement possibly pending

By | Published on Tuesday 2 February 2016

Rita Ora

Roc Nation has responded to the previously reported lawsuit filed by Rita Ora, which saw the singer trying to get out of her contract with Jay-Z’s company.

In its countersuit, Roc Nation says that Ora is in breach of the five-album contract she has with the company. It adds that the firm has “tirelessly promoted” the singer and her 2012 debut album, while spending $2.3 million on an as yet uncompleted second record. The company says it wants that money back plus damages for the undelivered four LPs.

However, in her lawsuit, Ora claimed that it was Roc Nation that had delayed her second album, and in doing so had stalled the singer’s career. Her lawyers argued that a change of personnel at the music firm meant the people who had supported Ora early on were no longer there, meanwhile the fact that she was distributed by Sony – while Roc Nation was now mainly working with Universal – had caused further problems.

Either way, Ora’s legal rep, Howard E King, now insists that out of court talks are very much ongoing between Jay-Z and his client, and that the countersuit has only been filed because Roc Nation had a deadline by which it had to respond. He told Billboard that a deal that will see Ora released from her Roc Nation commitments is close to being signed, with Sony Music’s approval pending.

So make the most of the spiteful lawsuits while you can, because it doesn’t look like you’re going to get any courtroom entertainment out of this one.



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