Megan Thee Stallion Escalates Label War, Now Wants At Least $1 Million Along with Freedom [Video]

Megan, born Megan Pete, has been locked in a complicated and bitter legal battle with 1501 dating back to March 2020, trying to extricate herself from the allegedly onerous contract she signed with the independent label owned by ex-professional baseball player Carl Crawford when she was an up-and-coming artist on the brink of superstardom.

Crawford and 1501 have vigorously pushed back. They claim Something For Thee Hotties – a 45-minute collection of new tracks, previously unreleased tracks and skits – is less than an “album” for various reasons and would not count toward her contract quota. They also claim Pete still owes the label “many millions” from her ancillary activities such as touring, endorsements, merchandising and even acting.

In filings reviewed by Rolling Stone, the label argues Pete seemed happy with its representation until she hired Roc Nation as her management firm in September 2019. It alleges Roc Nation sparked “acrimony” because it wanted to replace 1501.

But Pete says Roc Nation helped her understand for the first time that her 1501 contract was not in keeping with industry norms. Instead of the standard 50-50 split of recording profits, Pete’s initial deal gave the label 60 percent of her recording income – with payments to outside parties such as producers coming out of her paycheck. The initial contract also gave the label a 30 percent chunk of her touring and merchandising profits.

She claims in her new first amended complaint filed in Harris County that she’s now fulfilled that debt and deserves to be severed from her “entirely one-sided” contract. She’s asking for the minimum of $1 million in damages because 1501 allegedly has refused to fork over her share of the royalties from her music.

And according to her Thursday filing, Pete believes 1501 likely was the source of an initial Aug. 4 leak related to Traumazine. She claims it followed shortly after 300 Entertainment provided a link to the album and its artwork to the label. Pete says one of the songs eventually leaked as well, leaving her “no choice” but to release Traumazine early. She’s since been “forced to hire forensic investigators to try to determine the source of the leaks,” she says in her filing.

For its part, 1501 denies any wrongdoing. It’s adamant Something for Thee Hotties “plainly does not meet the requirements for an album” under the contract because it purportedly includes “freestyles available on YouTube and archival material from as far back as 2019,” and only amounts to 29 minutes of new recordings featuring Pete.

The label, which countersued Pete in March, claims Pete’s contract dictates she “must include at least twelve new master recordings of her studio performances of previously-unreleased musical compositions” to get credit for an album. Crawford and 1501 also claim Pete still owes the “many millions of dollars” for her “ancillary activities” such as touring and merchandising.

Lawyers for 1501 did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone on Monday.