Kesha settles lawsuit with ex-manager
By Pankaj Ladhar of Manos • Alwine P.L.
In our last post, we told Miami residents about a lawsuit by a former manager against pop sensation Shakira.
Just the other day, we found a story showing that the “Whenever, Wherever” singer isn’t the only one who has gotten into a legal scrape with a former manager recently.
This week, Kesha, the singer behind hits such as “Your Love Is My Drug” and “Tik Tok,” settled a lawsuit that had been brought by her former manager back in 2011.
The former manager had alleged that Kesha violated an agreement that was signed before her career took off. The contract allegedly said that Kesha would pay her manager 20 percent of revenue she generated if she got signed to a major label, but would owe nothing if she did not get a contract.
When Kesha fired that manager and started with working with another, the first manager sued. He asked for $14 million from Kesha and $12 million from her new producer.
Kesha’s legal team has not commented directly on the lawsuit, but the sides reached a settlement this week. Neither would disclose the terms, though a statement was released saying both sides were pleased with the outcome.
Now, we cannot speak directly to Kesha’s legal situation, because we are not intimately familiar with it. However, some elements of what we do know do bear a passing similarity to an all-too-familiar scenario: managers or other entertainment professionals see a diamond in the rough before he or she has made it big and then try to siphon off that professional’s fortune once he or she has “arrived,” professionally speaking.
It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and while there is nothing you can do to insulate yourself fully from people who would take advantage of you, having legal representation whom you trust and respect can help a lot.
Source: Idolator, “Ke$ha Settles $14 Million Lawsuit With Former Management,” Sam Lansky, Dec. 6, 2012