Due to the huge success of his hit single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, Shaboozey has filed a lawsuit against Warner Chappell, claiming that the music publisher is hindering his efforts to get an early exit.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles, the country star claims Warner-Tamerlane, a subsidiary of Warner Chappell, refused to release him from his bankruptcy contract, but the contract included a clause saying he could pay 110% of the “uncollected debt” to speed up the process, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone.
Given the popularity of “Tipsy,” the 29-year-old’s representatives sent a letter to Warner demanding the balance and the amount owed, but the publisher reportedly refused to work with him and his team.
“To date, Warner has refused to disclose to Plaintiff the total amount of uncollected amounts for the prior advances, thereby violating the Administrative Agreement,” the lawsuit states.
Shaboozey’s original record label and publisher, Kreshendo, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Shaboozey claims Kreshendo instructed Warner not to disclose any information about the uncollected amounts to him. The lawsuit against both companies was filed for breach of contract, according to Rolling Stone.
The Virginia native, born Collins Obinna Chibueze, is not the only one to file suit recently. According to TMZ, Kreshendo filed a lawsuit against him for more than $2 million, claiming he knew of the clause that said the company could still profit from his musical success even when it allowed him to get out of his contract in 2019.
According to court documents, the singer-songwriter does not want to share the profits from his song with his former label.
Despite the legal issues, Shaboozey is enjoying a great summer thanks to the strong response from music lovers to “Tipsy.” Blavity reported that the song spent several weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
