Wiz Khalifa filed a lawsuit against his former manager Benjy Grinberg and the label Rostrum Records at Los Angeles Superior Court on 31st May 2016.
The news was reported by Billboard.
The rapper who was signed by the label in 2005 wants to end the 360 deal and as per the reports, the rapper in the lawsuit
“alleges that Grinberg and the label profited from “virtually every aspect of plaintiff’s professional life” for more than a decade, and entered a “series of other transactions, all in further violation of the rule against self-dealing.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter,
“Khalifa is seeking declaratory relief under California’s seven-year rule, which says personal services contracts can’t be enforced against the employee for more than seven years after the service begins. The statute holds that if the contract requires the production of a specified quantity of “phonorecords” and the employee fails to meet that requirement, the employer can sue for damages — but Khalifa’s suit claims the deal required him to deliver no more than five studio albums and he’s already delivered six.”
Khalifa is suing Grinberg as the rapper feels that his former manager ” induced him to waive his right to void the contract when he turned 18″ and did not give the artist an alternative to the contract which would have been more beneficial for him professionally.
According to Khalifa’s attorney Alex Weingarten
“An artist’s most trusted advisor is his or her personal manager. Generally, nothing good comes out when the manager decides to go into business against his artist. Unfortunately, that is the case here.”
This is the second time we are coming across a case where an artist feels that he had been manipulated by his label. Kesha might have filed a lawsuit on different grounds but what it did to her career makes the situation apparent. As more and more artists are opening up, we are getting to see the other side of the music industry which, unfortunately, does not seem to be really positive.
What do you think about Khalifa’s action? Tell us in the comments or tweet @CelebMix .