Tim McGraw Sued By Record Label of 20 Years

Tim McGraw’s 20-year record deal with Curb Records of Nashville, which turned rocky several years ago, hit a new low last week when Curb filed suit against Tim alleging he has failed to fulfill his contract.

 

The suit involves Tim’s last album with Curb, Emotional Traffic, which he delivered last October (though it has yet to be released) with the comment that this is his “absolute last album with Curb if it kills him.”

 

Curb Records’ lawsuit says that some of the songs on the album were recorded more than 18 months before the label got them, in violation of the recording contract — which specifies that all recordings be more recent to “embody Tim McGraw’s most current and topical performances,” the suit says. Because the latest album included older recordings, it doesn’t fulfill the terms of the contract for a required fifth album, according to the suit.

 

According to The Tennessean, a McGraw spokesman said the label is trying to force McGraw “to serve perpetually under a contract that he has already fully and faithfully completed.”

 

Curb’s attorney Jay Bowen, meanwhile, said that the case is a clear example of an artist trying to break a contract he simply disagrees with — with broad implications for the industry.

 

McGraw’s attorney Rusty Jones declined to discuss the specifics of the suit, saying the singer’s legal response would provide a “vigorous” defense.

 

Industry insiders say suits like this against artists by their labels are unusual — but so, too, are 20-year contracts.

 

The Tennessean goes on to say that McGraw has been especially critical of the label choosing to release “greatest hits” albums of his before he has had new albums released, claiming the label was trying to lengthen his contract by doing so. Because the contract stipulates the amount of time that’s to pass before he can release each album, the hits albums have meant the artist has had to wait before issuing new material.

 

Source: The Tennessean