Music Biz: Label Claims It Signed Drake in 2008 Sues Cash Money for Profits
So, who signed Drake to his come-up, now-you-really-are-successful contract? Most people would say Cash Money. However, Aspire Music Group has long argued that it in fact was the label that signed Drizzy in 2008. And James “Jas” Prince would claim he was the linchpin in that deal, and he got ripped off.
There’s an incredibly tangled web of lawsuits involving Drake, and no one seems to know who is owed what for the payouts of his recordings.
Wednesday, Aspire filed a lawsuit against Cash Money for its share of the revenue Drake has generated through recordings. In the lawsuit—a copy of which Pitchfork obtained and broke down—Aspire alleges that Drake signed an exclusive recording deal with them in Dec. 2008, and then Aspire signed a secondary deal with Cash Money.
As Pitchfork explains, this secondary deal “would give Aspire one-third of the profits from any ‘commercial exploitation’ of Drake recordings, according to the complaint. Aspire now asserts that it wants Cash Money to give a full accounting of Drake earnings and to pay Aspire’s share of revenues, plus damages.”
OK, is that confusing enough? To wit: Aspire says Cash Money has ripped them off.
But wait: things get even more twisted.
This is just the latest in a string of lawsuits involving Drizzy and Aspire. In a case that began in 2012, James “Jas” Prince sued Aspire, claiming he discovered Drake and Aspire denied him profits he was owed.
Prince also (separately) sued Aspire’s co-founder, Derrick Lawrence, for Drake profits. To wit: Prince says Aspire has ripped him off.
Prince’s lawsuits are reportedly contingent on Aspire’s lawsuit with Cash Money, so this is all related, and it all revolves around Aubrey. For further breakdown of the history of this tangled web, check out this summary from 2012.
