Summer Walker’s longtime label/management firm LVRN is countersuing the singer over unpaid commissions and royalties.
The R&B singer sued LVRN in August, accusing the Atlanta-based indie music company of skimming money from her music, touring and merch. LVRN denies those claims and, in a new court filing, says Walker is actually the one who breached their 2017 contract by refusing to share key cuts of her earnings.
“Walker has acted in bad faith and been stubbornly litigious,” write LVRN’s lawyers in a Monday (Nov. 9) countersuit, obtained by Billboard.
LVRN alleges that Walker hasn’t delivered on several percentage cuts set forth in her contract, including a 7% commission from her Still Finally Over It arena tour this year, a 20% share of her public performance royalties and a 15% management commission on gross ancillary income.
The legal documents do not specify which business deals are missing that 15% commission to LVRN. But they list more than two dozen “lucrative” opportunities LVRN negotiated for Walker — including a partnership with Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty brand, her opening act slot on Chris Brown’s Breezy Bowl stadium tour and a performance at the FIFA World Cup this year.
LVRN is now seeking unspecified financial damages from Walker for breach of contract. The singer’s attorney, Keith Moten, tells Billboard on Wednesday (Nov. 11) that the counterclaim “does nothing to change the fundamental issues at the heart of Summer’s lawsuit, nor does it diminish their obligation to account for their actions.”
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“It is particularly disappointing that, rather than meaningfully addressing Summer’s serious allegations, LVRN is now seeking additional money from the very artist whose talent, hard work and success helped build its business,” adds Moten. “We strongly dispute LVRN’s counterclaims and remain confident in the legal and factual grounds supporting Summer’s lawsuit. She remains steadfast in her pursuit of accountability, fairness and the freedom to move forward with her career on her terms. We intend to vigorously pursue those objectives through the courts.”
Walker has been pursuing legal claims since this summer in the hopes of severing her contracts with both LVRN and Interscope Records, to whom she jointly signed in 2017. Separately from the LVRN lawsuit, Walker sent a notice to the Universal Music Group subsidiary in August invoking her rights under California’s seven-year statute, a state law that allows individuals to cut off any personal contract that runs past that amount of time.
But the law has a catch: labels can sue for damages if an artist chooses to exit a record deal after seven years but before all of their album commitments have been fulfilled. Interscope did just that last month, filing a $50 million lawsuit alleging Walker has only delivered three projects from her contract’s five-album commitment: her 2019 debut Over It, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the 2021 chart-topper Still Over It and another No. 2 set, Finally Over It, in 2025.
Interscope has said it’s “hopeful that our ongoing discussions will lead to an amicable resolution” with Walker. Moten, who’s also representing Walker in the Interscope case, previously told Billboard he was preparing to countersue the major label but still “remains open to a constructive resolution.”
