Business litigation may deal with entertainment contracts

Georgia is the home of many new and emerging musical and entertainment artists. Every one of those individuals and groups will have the need to enter into various contracts for the production and distribution of their music or other entertainment activities. Business litigation often arises between the entertainer and the producer or a production company.

Contractual disputes in this context are familiar types of cases that are seen in both state and federal courts. For example, one lawsuit was recently filed in a federal district court in Atlanta by  Zone 4 Inc. against country artist Kane Brown. It is reported that Brown signed with the producer prior to his emergence as a star recording artist.

The lawsuit claims that Brown breached a 2016 contract between the parties when he signed a later similar deal with Sony Music Nashville. The lawsuit also claims that Zone 4’s Jamal Jones, who also goes by Polow da Don, discovered Brown and signed him to a deal that was intended to further Brown’s career. It is alleged that Brown chose to breach his agreement by going over to Sony. Zone 4 claims that the contract bound Brown to perform exclusively for Zone 4.

Zone 4 claims to have been entitled to 50 percent of Brown’s record royalties and 25 percent of other services, such as endorsements, advertisements and brand marketing. Since allegedly signing with Sony, Brown has had 3 Number 1 singles and has become immensely popular. That led to Zone 4 trying to communicate with Brown and discuss its demand, but to no avail. The company now claims full damages and demands a full accounting of all revenue Brown has collected. Business litigation in a federal court in Georgia will be generally similar procedurally to the remaining federal district courts throughout the country.