Donald Glover and Glassnote Records reach settlement on royalty dispute
After streaming controversy settles, rapper and label come to agreeable terms
Donald Glover and his former label, Glassnote Records, have settled a dispute over streaming royalties and have both dropped their lawsuits.
Donald Glover and his former label, Glassnote Records, have settled a dispute over streaming royalties and have both dropped their lawsuits.
At the center of the initial court case were three albums that Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, released on the Glassnote Records label between 2011 to 2017. This lot of recordings include his Grammy award winning, “Awaken, My Love!” (2016), Because of The Internet (2013), and Camp (2011).
Read More: Yep, this is America: Donald Glover sued by former record label
According to Variety, Glassnote took Glover to court in 2018, alleging that the entertainer claimed 100% of streaming royalties from SoundExchange.
SoundExchange pays “non-interactive digital performance royalties” — which are commonly paid by streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify and SiriusXM considered digital radio.
Glassnote felt they were owed 50% of Glover’s streaming royalties, claiming that as a label they owned the copyrights to the albums in question. The record label said the remaining 50% should go to Glover, other musicians and the producers he featured on the three albums. Glover filed a counterclaim to Glassnote’s lawsuit in September, alleging that his former record company had skimmed on royalty payments and charged exorbitant expenses.
Read More: FIRST LOOK: Rihanna and Donald Glover in “Guava Island”
Additionally, Glover argued that his imprint McDJ Recording had retained ownership of the musician’s masters and had just licensed their use to Glassnote, according to Complex magazine. For this reason, Glover maintained he should be entitled to more than half of the royalties.
In a court stipulation that was filed last Friday in the Southern District of New York, both Glover and Glassnote agreed to drop their suits and to pay their own attorneys’ fees. Variety reports that there are no other terms of the deal disclosed to the public.
Despite this agreement, Glassnote and Glover still has business to settle. Based on a filing for declaratory judgment which was submitted to the court last July, Glassnote has paid Glover $8 million over the life of the contract, and plans to make another $2 million payment in the future to the “This is America” star.
Read More: Childish Gambino makes GRAMMYs history but skips the awards show despite major wins
Glassnote, which is headquartered in New York, was founded by Daniel Glass in 2007. The firm was represented by Loeb & Loeb in court.
Variety reported it had reached out to Glassnote and Glover’s reps for comment.
