*Kanye West’s legal battle with EMI is back on.
Earlier this year, Ye filed a lawsuit against the company asking for ownership of all of his songs that were released after October 1, 2010. He argued that his publishing deal with EMI was illegal and that his contract should have lasted for only seven years.
At the center of the dispute is a provision that forbids him from not working. Here’s what the contract states:
“You (Mr. West) hereby represent and warrant that to [EMI] that You will, throughout the Term as extended by this Modification, remain actively involved in writing, recording and producing Compositions and Major Label Albums, as Your principle occupation. At no time during the Term will you seek to retire as a songwriter, recording artist or producer or take any extended hiatus during which you are not actively pursuing Your musical career in the same basic manner as You have pursued such career to date. (The preceding representation shall not be deemed to prevent You from taking a vacation of limited duration.)”
West seeks to “obtain his freedom” from publishing and record contracts, and as part of his legal argument, he cites California Labor Code section 2855, which limits personal service contracts to no more than seven years, per msn.com.
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Kanye’s seven-year argument has the timeline starting in 2003 with “College Dropout” and ending with the November 2010 release of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”
In March, EMI filed a countersuit, claiming the rapper signed off on extensions of the contract, and that he isn’t allowed to retire.
Six months later in September, West and EMI seemed to settle their issues. “The suit was subsequently thrown out with prejudice and allowed for the possibility for it to be reopened by a deadline of December 27,” per Complex. EMI stated at the time that they reached “an agreement in principle.”
As the deadline approached, the court was informed that both parties could not agree on the details of the settlement.
“Unfortunately, as of today’s date, the parties have been unable to finalize the terms of a settlement agreement, or to finally resolve related issues on which a settlement agreement would be conditioned,” the letter to the court said, per Billboard. “As a result, good cause exists, and EMI hereby applies, to reopen the Action.”
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