Megan Thee Stallion Shatters Chains of Former Label, Embracing Independence: A Journey to Musical Triumph
Megan Thee Stallion breaks free from her former label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, emerging victorious after a tough battle With no current label affiliation, she is determined to pave her own path in the industry
Megan Thee Stallion. Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
Is Megan Thee Stallion now a free woman? That's the declaration made by the artist behind the hit song "Bongos" after engaging in a lengthy battle with her former label, 1501 Certified Entertainment.
"Most of the funding for this part of my album is coming from Megan herself as we strive to break free... You all are aware of the situation. However, I am currently without a label," revealed Megan, who is 28 years old, during an Instagram Live session on October 12. She went on to share that her upcoming music will be financed from her own pocket and released under the label "Hot Girl Productions." "The next wave of content you see will all originate straight from Megan Thee Stallion, from her creative mind and her own wallet."
"I've got you all in my corner, my lovely fans!" she exclaimed, emphasizing her need for their support in her new venture. "I'm thrilled to be independent for the first time, just like when it was only my mom and me."
"For now, it's just me leading the way until we find a new label. However, I'm not looking to sign with a new label at the moment because I want to take charge on my own," Meg explained.
Megan The Stallion had her first confrontation with 1501 Certified Entertainment, the label established in 2016 by former MLB player Carl Crawford, in 2020. The lawsuit filed against the label by Megan claimed that they were preventing her from releasing her music and did not show willingness to negotiate or terminate a contract she described as “entirely conscionable,” as reported by The Fader.
When Megan entered into a management agreement with Roc Nation in 2019, Roc Nation's lawyers discovered that her contract allocated recording profits in a 60-40 split in favor of 1501, and also entitled them to a portion of earnings from other sources such as live performances and endorsements.
In 2020, the judge ultimately ruled in Megan's favor, leading to the release of her Suga EP. However, conflicts persisted as Megan filed a lawsuit against the label for impeding the release of a remix of BTS's "Butter."
In 2022, Megan also filed a lawsuit against the label regarding her 2021 compilation album, Something for Thee Hotties, and whether it met the criteria of being classified as an "album". She asserted that it did count as an album, along with Traumazine from 2022 and Good News from 2020, fulfilling her contractual obligation with 1501 to record a certain number of albums.
In response, the label initiated a countersuit, contending that Something for Thee Hotties, which consisted of previously released freestyles and unreleased archived tracks, only contained 29 minutes of new material and had not received prior approval from the label.
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As Megan later revised the initial complaint, she demanded a compensation of $1 million. In December 2022, a Texas judge dismissed 1501 Certified Entertainment's plea to classify Something for Thee Hotties as an album falling outside her contractual obligations. This decision paved the way for a potential trial to begin. Nevertheless, The Fader highlighted that less than 1 percent of such disputes between artists and labels actually proceed to court, as both parties generally choose to settle instead.
