Breach of contract? How long can it last?
Question by Justin M: Breach of contract? How long can it last?
I know very little about contract law so I’m looking for whatever answers I can find. A musical artist had a contractual agreement with a manager, in addition to a contract with a major recording label. The artist and manager had a falling out (a little more than 3 years ago). The artist is now signed with a major international music label, which is the parent company of his former record label. The artist picked up their new manager shortly after breaking with the former manager. Because of the falling out with the original manager, the artist is now prohibited from releasing compact discs (but not vinyl records) in the U.S. because the former manager supposedly has the rights to the music, and band name. There are also rumors about being prohibited to play live concerts as well. The artist has also had to modify their image as the image of the artist is related to the band name. It is rumored that the former manager was helping create the music, and was not being credited. It is also rumored that the former manager felt that because of the terms of their agreement, was always at a disadvantage. Would the original agreement hold up in court? If there is no termination clause to the original agreement, is there a length of time after which the original agreement would automatically become invalid? Certainly this can’t go on forever, or can it?
Best answer:
Answer by Common
If the artist is truly signed with a “major international record label”, their legal department will handle these issues. There are any number of legal issues presented by the factual scenario you’ve just presented, and they’re all extremely convoluted and complex. Without seeing the original contract documents, there is no way anyone here can give you a valid opinion on this situation.
In my opinion, I doubt the new label would sign the artist if they didn’t believe they could release the artist’s music.
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