12/7/2011
The legal battle of Country superstar Tim McGraw against Curb Records, the recording outfit that discovered him is set for a first round in a courtroom in Nashville on Tuesday.
The independent record label, which is run by industry giant Mike Curb, filed a lawsuit against McGraw in May, alleging that the singer had breached the conditions of his contract by recording his latest album too soon after releasing his earlier album, making it not new enough.
The country singer countersued, alleging that the deal he signed almost two decades ago for five original albums kept him in a state of “involuntarily servitude” by extending out by years the time between the releases of fresh materials.
McGraw claims that Curb Records achieved that by releasing recycled greatest hits albums rather than allowing new releases.
Under the conditions of the contract, McGraw needs to wait at least 18 months after the release of an album before he releases another one. This is regardless of whether he released new material or re-released old material. This allowed Curb Records to extend the contract for five albums in twenty years.
A full trial on the issues regarding the terms of the contract will not take place until July.
For the meantime, however, the attorneys for McGraw have asked the judge in the Davidson County Chancery Court to permit the country singer to record new material with another label.
Court records state that the hearing next week will “first make a final determination on whether or not Curb is entitled to prevent Mr. McGraw, by injunction or otherwise, from recording for other entities other than Curb.”
