Just days after up-and-coming country singer Shaboozy filed a lawsuit against Warner & Chappell and her former record company, the record company has responded with legal action of its own.
According to Billboard , Shaboozie, whose real name is Collins Obinna Chibueze, filed the lawsuit against Crescendo Entertainment on Wednesday, August 21. Shaboozie claims that Warner is using Crescendo’s influence to prevent him from exiting a publishing management deal, even though he had already terminated his contract with the label in 2019.
Two days later, Crescendo filed a countersuit against Shaboozy, claiming that it still held significant rights to his music.
The company acknowledged that it had terminated its record deal with Shaboozy in 2019, but claimed that the decision came with significant conditions: Specifically, Crescendo retained 50% ownership of Shaboozy’s songs and the right to a cut of the profits from the masters.
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Crescendo explained that these terms were intended as compensation to the company for backing a then-unknown artist.
The labels are now accusing Shaboozy of not honoring the terms of the agreement, but of “using fraudulent and misrepresentative tactics to deprive Plaintiffs of their contractual rights.”
The suit also alleges that Shabuzzi consistently violated his severance agreement, including failing to pay required benefits and engaging in disputes with Warner, which were also detailed in his own lawsuit earlier this week.
Shabousi has yet to respond to the new lawsuit.