Grammy nominated Summer Walker is not only trying to get out of her business relationship with Universal Music’s Interscope, she’s also very keen to break up with management company LVRN, which - she says - locked her into an unfair contract and then acted in bad faith.
The bust up with Interscope came to light last week when the major label sued Walker for damages after she tried to use California’s Labor Code to end her record deal early. Rolling Stone then spotted an earlier lawsuit in which Walker is suing LVRN.
Commenting on that lawsuit, Walker’s lawyer Keith Moten told Rolling Stone, “Summer has given LVRN iconic music and some of the best years of her life. In return, LVRN has breached Summer’s trust in them and has failed Summer in numerous ways”.
Walker first signed with management company and indie label LVRN - aka Love Renaissance - in September 2017. A five album record deal with Interscope, which saw LVRN’s label partner with the major, then followed two months later.
She now claims that the LVRN deal was overly onerous and fundamentally unfair. Or, in the words of her lawsuit, her contract with the management firm “granted particularly oppressive and extensive rights” to LVRN as well as giving it “a controlling influence” over her career.
Walker also claims she did not receive independent legal advice when entering into her deal with LVRN. The suggestion being an independent lawyer would probably have raised concerns about the LVRN deal at the time had one been consulted.
As well as the various grievances with that 2017 management deal, Walker also accuses her managers of misconduct which, in legal terms, her lawsuit claims, constitutes breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent concealment.
Among the allegations on the gripe list are that LVRN sold merchandise featuring her name and likeness without sharing the profits, and that it operated a YouTube channel in her name without her knowledge and without sharing the revenue it generated.
The lawsuit also claims her managers charged excessive company expenses to Walker in bad faith, before concluding “defendant has breached its fiduciary duties of good faith and fair dealing so severely as to cause a breach of the agreement by defendant”.
The singer is seeking lots of lovely damages from LVRN via the litigation, but more importantly wants the court to declare her 2017 agreement with the management company and label “void and unenforceable”.
With her Interscope deal, Walker is relying on the so called ‘seven year rule’ in the California Labor Code. This was designed to stop labels and studios from locking performers into unfairly long deals and says a personal services contract becomes unenforceable seven years after it has been signed.
However, the record industry managed to secure a major amendment to that rule back in the 1980s by arguing that an artist’s commitments in a record deal are usually based on delivering a number of records rather than working with a label for a number of years, making the seven year rule unfair on record companies.
As a result of that amendment, an artist can still usually walk away from a record deal in California after seven years, but the label can then sue for damages in relation to any albums not delivered.
Which is what Interscope has done, seeking at least $50 million in damages. The label argues it is still owed two albums from Walker because, while there have been additional EPs and a mixtape, she has only released three official studio albums to date.
Despite filing its $50 million lawsuit, Interscope has been keen to stress it is still in talks with Walker and hopes an “amicable resolution” can be reached. Walker’s legal reps say the singer also “remains open to a constructive resolution”, though will also “vigorously defend” herself against Interscope’s lawsuit and is now planning to countersue the major.
Lawyer Keith Moten concludes, “Summer is in a new phase of her life. She’s been through a lot in her life, personally and professionally. She’s a mother now and she doesn’t trust blindly anymore. She’s ready to fight for herself, her freedom and her peace”.