Kanye West likens EMI contract to ‘servitude’
Kanye West has fired off a new missive in his legal battle with label bosses at EMI, likening his contract to “servitude.”
The Stronger hitmaker launched the lawsuit last week, taking issue with the song publishing paperwork he signed in 2003 because it doesn’t set a time limit on the number of tunes he’s required to deliver.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, Kanye doesn’t state exactly how many tracks he agreed to submit for EMI chiefs, but until he holds up his end of the deal, the contract remains in effect.
He argues the lack of specificity in the deal means he could be tied to the label for decades, and that allegedly violates California law regarding personal services contracts, which are limited to a maximum of seven years because otherwise, it would be “servitude”.
He is demanding “to be set free from its bonds,” and is asking the judge overseeing the dispute to declare the contract dead from 2010, allowing him to regain the rights from every song he’s released since, from albums including My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, his Watch the Throne joint project with JAY-Z, and The Life of Pablo.
In his initial filing, Kanye also claimed EMI officials owed him money.
It’s not the only lawsuit he is currently embroiled in – he also recently sued JAY-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records for money he insists he’s owed, and lodged another against Island Def Jam executives, again seeking to “be free” from his longrunning contract.
from Canoe http://bit.ly/2S1NkwB
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