Rising country star Shaboozey has sued Warner Chappell, claiming the major music publisher is stalling his efforts to buy himself out of his contract amid the success of his smash hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Friday and obtained by Rolling Stone, Shaboozey alleges that he tried to exercise a clause in his administration deal that would allow him to pay 110 percent of his unrecouped balances so he could exit the deal early. Such a move would be particularly advantageous and lucrative right given how popular “Tipsy” has gotten.
The singer’s reps sent a letter to Warner-Tamerlane (a subsidiary of Warner Chappell) last month about the deal and asked for a balance on how much is owed, but the publisher has been uncooperative, the suit said. “To date, Warner has refused to disclose to plaintiff the total amount of the unrecouped balance for the prior advances in violation of the Administration Agreement,” the suit said.
Also named as a defendant in the case is a music company called Kreshendo, Shaboozey’s original record label and publisher. The singer claimed that Kreshendo instructed Warner not to give him the unrecouped balance information.
Shaboozey sued both Warner and Kreshendo for breach of contract. Warner didn’t immediately reply to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. A contact for Kreshendo couldn’t be located.
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is one of the biggest songs of the year, and a strong contender for song of the summer. With 643 million Spotify streams to date, it’s been a streaming and radio smash as well. It’s spent the past five weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
“The actual feeling of having your ‘dreams come true’ is indescribable, and I hope everyone gets to experience it at some point in life,” Shaboozey wrote on X when the song first topped the chart.
