Planning On A Music Career? You Better Be Paying Attention During Contract Law

// If you’re a musician under contract with a record label, you’ve got to be on the defensive. The label and execs will take everything if you let them — Gucci Gucci went Platinum and Kreayshawn still owes Sony money. There’s the occasional Prince and Megan Thee Stallion who self fund their musical genius, but many musicians signed contracts with terms they later discovered were far more favorable to the labels than them. G Herbo is one of them, and he’s ready to go to court to get his share. From Baller Alert:

G Herbo claims he was deceived out of millions by his former manager and the record label he was signed to, adding to his growing legal issues.

AllHipHop revealed court documents confirming G Herbo’s $40 million lawsuit against Joseph “JB” Bowden and Machine Entertainment for alleged financial exploitation.The Chicago native alleges he was deceived into “unfair and one-sided deals” while a minor, leading to enduring debt.  Presently, he owes his former label $8.4 million.

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Student loan debt is bad enough, but owing somebody $8.4M stemming from paperwork you signed before you could legally drink. One factor in the high toll may have been poor management:

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“Over the years, when we started generating money—probably this was on the Sony system—[Bowden] pulled me to the side, like, ‘Bro, let me run your business for you.’ I wasn’t really business-savvy.  This was somebody I trusted with my life, like my brother, like a father figure.  ‘I’m your business for you, bro.’ Alright, so from then on, he’s running my business,” the rapper said during a livestream.
Herbo’s legal team claims Bowden, serving as both his business manager and controlling his recording rights, failed to act in his best interests, creating a conflict of interest not disclosed to the rapper.

Good management pays dividends. Poor management is a liability. G Herbo is demanding $20M for breach of fiduciary duty.

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G Herbo Taking Legal Action Against Ex-Manager and Label, Says He’s Owed $40M After Being Deceived into ‘Unfair and One-Sided Deals’ [Baller Alert]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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G Herbo, Joseph “JB” Bowden, Machine Entertainment, Music Contracts, Sony Music