Dionne Warwick is still fabulous, still thriving and on the verge of releasing her final album. However, she still has a few legal matters to settle first.
As she prepares her “DWuets” album featuring Kehlani, Cynthia Erivo and others, according to Billboard, Warwick is suing Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. for allegedly stealing “millions of dollars in royalty income” for songs like “Walk On By” and “I Say A Little Prayer.”
The new suit from Warwick comes one year after Artist Rights sued her, alleging breach of contract and that she unfairly reneged on a longtime partnership that first began in 2001. Warwick’s lawyers contend that the firm used a one-page agreement hastily signed to exploit Warwick and quietly take millions of dollars from her until she realized.
“Ms. Warwick seeks to expose AREC’s performative ethics and vindicate her rights and obtain restitution for the damages caused by AREC’s decades-long pilfering of millions of dollars in royalty income she earned as a result her legendary recordings,” her lawyer, Robert S. Meloni, wrote in the court filing.
Warwick’s suit alleges the company has taken royalties from several of her hit songs, beyond “Walk On By” and “I Say A Little Prayer,” including “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” “Do You Know The Way To San Jose,” “Alfie,” and more.
In 2001, Warwick retained AREC to retrieve royalties owed to her by the label formerly known as Warner Bros. Records. The singer signed the deal without an attorney and the details gave AREC the ability to enforce her rights “in perpetuity.” Warwick’s current lawyer says the singer believed the deal pertained only to her issue with Warner Bros, and not to anyone else. Instead, AREC, according to her lawyer, took a 50 percent share of any and everything Warwick recorded from 1962 to 2001.
While that suit is ongoing, the anticipation for “DWuets” continues to grow. Due out on March 20, the album is completely written by multi-time Academy Award nominee Diane Warren and in true Warrick fashion, she shared a humorous take on how it is all coming together.
“I used to defer every crazy social media idea with “we’ll do that for the final album,” she tweeted on Monday (Mar. 9). “Well, it’s the final album and my team just sent me the entire list. Every single idea…”
