The music industry is a tough place to make it, especially when dealing with all the politics that go on behind the scenes at record labels and between artists. It’s not all pleasantries and handshakes — sometimes things get nasty as relationships sour and deals are broken. When it comes to the music industry, these kind of feuds are never just brushed off, especially when there’s big money on the line. Here’s a look at country music’s 10 nastiest lawsuits!
10. Travis Tritt versus Category 5
Travis Tritt went to court with his former record label, Category 5, in order to gain control of his music. He signed with the independent label in 2006 and released one album, The Storm, but the label folded shortly after. There were a lot of allegations that the chief executive officer, Raymond Termini, illegally used Medicaid funds to finance the label. A month later, Tritt took Category 5 to court and filed a $10 million lawsuit against the record label because they failed to pay royalties on the album and hadn’t given him creative control. The two were locked in litigation for a long six years and eventually Tritt got control of the masters of the album and re-released them in 2013 on his own label, Post Oak, under the title The Calm After…
Photo by Amy Harris/REX