[NEW YORK] – Grammy-nominated singer Etana says her dispute with VP Records over alleged unpaid royalties caused her “many sleepless nights”. She filed a lawsuit against the Queens, New York company citing a number of royalty-related claims.
The lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of New York by Shauna McKenzie Morris and Freemind Music LLC against VP Records and their affiliates. Namely VP Records Retail Outlet Inc, VP Music Group Inc, VP Records Distributors LLC, VP Records of Brooklyn LLC, Greensleeves Publishing Ltd and STB Music Inc.
Etana, whose given name is Shauna McKenzie Morris, is represented by Miami Entertainment Law Group.
A statement from that firm read in part:
“Despite all the commercial success enjoyed by McKenzie, to date the defendants have not provided a formal accounting and they have not properly paid plaintiffs the royalties and the other income due to the plaintiffs under their agreements including but not limited to artiste royalties, mechanical royalties, public performance royalties, profits from the sale of merchandise and for any licensing fees.”
VP Records distributed four albums for Etana, starting with The Strong One in 2008. Their association ended six years later with “I Rise”.
“It was so frustrating I suffered from depression for a while. Many sleepless nights, years of not receiving royalties and the constant hoops to go through to get an answer that leads to no resolve made it even more frustrating.
Eventually, I got through it when I decided I would walk away from it all and just keep creating,” said Etana.
Founded in 1977, VP Records is known globally for distributing and marketing the music of reggae’s biggest acts including Beres Hammond, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Shaggy and Sean Paul.
