Producer Madlib has accused his long-time business manager Eothen Alapatt, aka Egon, of mismanagement and “rank self-dealing”, and of holding his social media accounts and intellectual property hostage.
According to a new lawsuit filed in California, Madlib met Egon when he was signed to Stones Throw Records. They then began working together in 2010, setting up label Madicine Show and merchandise company Rapp Cats, both of which were very much run and controlled by the manager.
Madlib, says his lawsuit, “relied on and expected Egon to competently and diligently manage these two entities” and to “never put his own interests first”, trusting that his manager would run their joint venture companies in a fair and honest way.
However, it’s claimed, Madlib “recently discovered that, not only was Egon not performing these duties, but he was also engaged in rank self-dealing, concealing information from and repeatedly breaching his duties to Madlib”.
Among the specific allegations made in the lawsuit is that Egon put his own label, called Now-Again, between Madicine Show and it distributor Ingrooves, in doing so taking an extra secret fee off the top of what was due on Madlib’s recordings.
Meanwhile, analysis of the accounts for Madicine Show and Rapp Cats, it’s claimed, “revealed several accounting irregularities”, as well as lots of missing paperwork for payments to Egon and others for things like “consulting, commissions, fees or reimbursements”.
Now that Madlib is looking to end his business partnership with Egon, the manager has allegedly “locked Madlib out of several key music business platforms that he should have access to including but not limited to Ingrooves, Apple Music, Bandcamp and YouTube”, as well as the producer”s social media accounts.
Madlib wants the two companies he set up with Egon to be wound up, but the manager refuses to do so. Egon, it’s claimed, is “insisting that he can keep Madlib in business with him, continue conducting business in Madlib’s intellectual property against Madlib’s will, keep profiting from Madlib’s work and goodwill, because there is nothing Madlib can do about it”.
The lawsuit accuses Egon of breach of fiduciary duty, and seeks a court-supervised winding up and dissolution of both Madicine Show and Rapp Cats.