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Corcoran is suing for breach of contract, violation of the Illinois Sales Representative Act and unjust enrichment, among other charges. He further asks the court to order an accounting of all amounts earned by the Bennett’s from February 2013 – the date Corcoran says Bennett agreed to pay him a 15% commission on all tour sales, merchandise and albums, among other sources of income. – as well as to enforce a sunset clause which will entitle him to future commissions for a period of three years after the termination of employment ending on April 25, 2023.
The lawsuit names Chance the Rapper, LLC, the rapper’s products and the tour companies Cool Pop Merch and CTR Touring as defendants.
The 20-page costume (read full here) chronicles Corcoran’s relationship with Bennett and his instrumental role in building the rapper’s career from 2012 – a journey that culminated in Bennett’s rise to superstar. and the Grammy victory for best rap album in 2017 for his mixtape Coloring book. Throughout, Corcoran asserts his influence in leading Bennett to eventual fame and fortune, including encouraging the rapper to continue building his brand independently despite record label openings – including Sylvia Rhone at Epic Records / Vested in Culture – after Bennett sold his first headlining show at Lincoln Hall in June 2012. Ultimately, the costume paints the portrait of a dedicated manager frustrated with self-behavior. – alleged sabotage of her superstar client, as well as the possible implosion of her first album release and nationwide tour.
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Among the many transactions highlighted in the complaint, Corcoran highlights its key role in the negotiation Coloring bookThe exclusive release of Apple Music for a period of two weeks in 2016 – while allowing Bennett to maintain control of his masters. Not only characterized as a wise deal where “Corcoran and Bennett were able to secure the funds to clear the album,” which included features from Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Young Thug and others, and they were not required to pay royalties to Apple, the suit also signals it as a “paradigm shift for the music industry” that has led to a flood of independent artists carving out successful careers without the label’s influence.
The complaint also highlights Corcoran’s role in building a massive independent merchandising operation for Bennett. Included is Corcoran’s deal with New Era Cap Company for a Chance the Rapper branded hat which became one of the best-selling non-sports caps in New Era history, resulting in “huge profits” for Bennett. and his associates. .
The costume explains: “In a standard merchandising deal, the artist would simply receive a percentage of the merchandise’s sales as a royalty. Instead, Corcoran negotiated a deal with New Era in which Cool Pop Merch, LLC purchased the hats wholesale and sold them exclusively on chanceraps.com. This approach resulted in increased initial risk for the company, but also massive profits when demand for the hat exploded. The Chance ‘3’ hat quickly became and remains one of New Era’s best-selling hats ever produced and which is not affiliated with a major sports team.
Bennett and Corcoran’s relationship began to show cracks in February 2019, when Corcoran alleges the rapper did not consult with him before publicly announcing his release. The big day this July. He claims Bennett subsequently ignored his reservations about producing an album in such a short period of time (especially in light of Bennett’s upcoming wedding slated for this March) and instead continued with recording sessions which Corcoran describes as “unproductive and unruly”.
“Procrastination and leisurely effort, perpetuated by various hangers not interested in the hard work of writing and recording, resulted in a substandard product, freestyle focused, complete deviation of the meticulous writing process that made Bennett famous for his pun. and spirit ”, we read in the complaint.
Although The big day eventually debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and received mixed to positive reviews from critics, the complaint characterizes the album as a disappointment overall, citing it as “the least popular project of Luck to date “who” delivers[ed] a blow ”to the reputation of Corcoran and Bennett.
It was this cool reception from fans, the lawsuit claims, that ultimately led to the cancellation of a 30-city tour Corcoran had planned behind the long-awaited album. Estimated gross at $ 25-35 million at first, low ticket sales and poor attendance forecasts eventually led Corcoran to recommend that Bennett cancel the tour and “use the time to regroup and refocus.” . Bennett postponed the tour just days before its launch in September 2019 before canceling it entirely in December.
Part of the complaint is devoted to Corcoran’s strained relationship with Bennett’s father and brother, Ken and Taylor Bennett, who has had an increasing influence on the direction of the rapper’s career around The big daythe Liberation. Corcoran says that while a merch strategy had been in place “for months” before the album’s release, it was thwarted at the last minute by Taylor, who put the brakes on the rollout and thus halted production and execution. pre-sale orders.
The relationship only got more strained from there, with Corcoran claiming that Ken and Taylor (“despite having little or no experience in the music industry”) began to lead Bennett’s career into a career. direction that conflicted with the manager’s vision. Instead of following Corcoran’s advice to keep a low profile and focus on songwriting and recording, under the Bennett’s direction, the rapper instead made “monetizing all available promotional opportunities” a priority, including appearances on talk shows such as Ellen, Hello america and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “These appearances only exacerbated the failure of The big day», Corcoran concludes.
After the tour was canceled – and after Ken and Taylor allegedly “eroded” Bennett’s confidence in Corcoran – the manager said Bennett blamed him for the relative failure of the tour. Big day album and tour “rather than accept that his own lack of dedication had doomed the project. Corcoran was finally sacked on April 27, 2020 after eight years.
After “months of contentious interactions” with the Bennett’s over unpaid commissions, Corcoran says he finally presented them with a list of all commissions owed to streaming and selling album and singles releases, as well as revenue from tours and related products. He claims that in response Ken Bennett offered a lump sum of $ 350,000, in violation of Corcoran and Bennett’s long-standing agreement to give Corcoran a 15% commission on net profits.
“Despite months of outreach and reconciliation efforts,” the complaint concludes, “Bennett refused to pay Corcoran the amounts owed to Corcoran under the parties’ long-standing agreement and established conduct. “
A representative for Bennett did not respond to Billboardrequest for comment from.
Chance Rapper by Billboard
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