Megan Thee Stallion wants answers after her second studio album, Traumazine, was leaked early, and she’s demanded information from her label’s distributor to get them.
via: Billboard
Megan Thee Stallion’s lawyers are asking a Texas judge to force Warner Music Group to hand over documents they believe will help uncover who leaked her album Traumazine.
Three weeks after the album was leaked online on Aug. 4 – it was later officially released on Aug. 12 and currently sits at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 – lawyers for Stallion (real name Megan Pete) are seemingly leaving no stone unturned to try to figure out who did it.
In a document filed Monday (Aug. 22) in Houston court, the rapper’s attorneys told a judge that WMG (which owns Stallion’s distributor 300 Entertainment) “was one of the few companies that received a copy of Traumazine in advance of its formal release.”
“Pete does not, at this time, accuse WMG of intentionally releasing her album, but does believe that receiving documents and communications from WMG related to Traumazine and its release should help discover who improperly leaked her artistic work,” Stallion’s lawyers wrote. “In addition to documents and communications, Pete wishes to ascertain who all received access to Traumazine through WMG.”
A spokesman for Stallion declined to comment Thursday on the request for info from WMG or elaborate on why it was necessary.
The demand came as a filing in an existing lawsuit filed by Stallion against her label, 1501 Certified Entertainment. Though the two sides have been fighting in court for more than two years, the latest clash is over whether her 2021 release Something For Thee Hotties counted as an “album” toward her three-album deal.
That lawsuit ratcheted up last week, when Stallion filed an amended complaint that, among other new allegations, suggested that it was 1501 Certified that caused the leak. The unauthorized release of Traumazine “occurred within only a few days after” she sent the new album to the label, her lawyers said at the time, and 1501 has “not taken any action to help investigate.”
The newer filing suggests that Stallion’s attorneys believe records held by WMG could uncover more information about the leak, and not that the company itself did anything wrong. But the wording – “does not, at this time, accuse” – very clearly left open the possibility that Stallion’s attorneys might later bring such accusations against WMG.
It’s not clear if Stallion’s attorneys attempted to get the information through non-legal means, like requesting it directly from WMG. A spokesman for WMG did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.
WMG was not the only target of Stallion’s dragnet. In a second motion filed in the same case, Stallion’s attorneys also asked the judge to force two internet service providers – Cablevision and Datacamp – to hand over information about the IP addresses that leaked Traumazine.
“Pete wishes to ascertain who subscribed, accessed, and used the relevant IP addresses to illegally leak portions of the album and related artwork to the public,” her lawyers wrote. “A subpoena for documents served upon Cablevision and Datacamp should help discover who improperly leaked her artistic work.”
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