Following over ten producers from his albums Vultures 1 and Vultures 2 claiming they have not been paid, Kanye West is under pressure.
A Billboard article claims that certain music attorneys are working together to get paid for their clients, who helped these projects but have not yet gotten their agreed royalties or fees.
Published in February, Vultures—a joint effort with Ty Dolla $ign—has had notable commercial success, moving 817,000 album-equivalent copies. Nearly a dozen producers have complained, though, that they are still awaiting signed agreements to guarantee their payments, so unable to receive producer royalties or publishing income. Vultures 2 producers apparently deal with the same problems.
“We represent clients who contributed to the Vultures albums but have yet to be compensated for their services; despite both albums being publicly released, this is still true,” music attorney Bob Celestin told Billboard. “It’s unfair and regrettable.” Given that West is a producer herself, you would expect her to be more sympathetic to this kind of circumstance.
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Given producers sometimes deal with delayed payments, this situation emphasizes a more general business problem. Attorney Jason Berger said, “Nine out of ten times, producers haven’t been paid by the time the music is released.”
The complexity of major musical endeavors aggravates the delay in payments. Celestin said, “With so many colleagues and high-profile artists needing to approve agreements, payments can take over a year to process.”
The unpredictable business practices of West seem to cause the delays. According to reports, he is currently working with a third after cycling through at least two legal teams to handle clearance. He also just changed music distributors from Create Music Group’s Label Engine to Too Lost, further aggravating the administrative procedure.
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West has kept ahead with fresh music in spite of these obstacles. The Vultures CDs, ascribed to ¥$, his collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, feature contributions from Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, KAYTRANADA, James Blake, DJ Mustard, and London on da Track. A few of the tunes on Vultures 1 have upwards of eleven producers.
West’s past of deserting projects gives little comfort to those still waiting for payment. He sold a stripped-down Malibu property at a loss of $36 million earlier this year and briefly considered starting a porn industry business only to abandon it weeks later.
West is allegedly getting ready to release Vultures 3 during the controversy, therefore aggravating the problems with outstanding commitments over three albums.
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