On March 2, Megan thee Stallion sued her record label, 1501 Certified Entertainment and its CEO Carl Crawford for "at least $1 million and termination of her contract" (Pitchfork). Megan claims that she initially sued her record label because they blocked the release of her new album, Suga, that that went public because of her temporary restraining order against the label. Megan also claims that Crawford tricked her into signing an unfair deal entitling the record label to 60% of her recording profits (50% of her publishing, 30% of her touring, and 30% of her merchandising profits), control of merchandising rights, and some passive income (Pitchfork). Crawford has confirmed this to be true. Megan had recently signed a deal with Roc Nation management and had been reviewing her old contracts when she found out that 1501 was reaping too many benefits from her album Tina Snow. Megan stated, “I will stand up for myself and won’t allow two men to bully me, I am NO ONES PROPERTY,", asserting that her music is her property and placing herself as an autonomous player on the musical stage. Megan is living within the parameters of Hip-Hop feminism, fighting to stake an autonomous and independent claim for herself in the industry. With no regard to the politics respectability, Megan refuses to conform to the expectations of women in the industry, bringing feminism to the streets and allowing the public to access her politics (Durham et al.).
There are many examples of record labels and managers abusing female artists, including sexual assault, grooming, financial manipulation, and verbal abuse. Kesha's legal dispute with Dr Luke is one notable example, her story centering around Dr Luke's verbal, sexual, physical and emotional abuse and an eating disorder that he contributed to the creation of. Many other female musicians and artists have commented on the frequent grooming of young women by powerful executives, with men continuing their lives after abusing and discarding vulnerable young artists. Not only are women sexually abused, but their labor is abused and undervalued. Only 15% of music industry executives are women and around 70% of the music industry's highest paid employees are male. 48% of musician's union workers that they had experienced workplace harassment, and 4/5 refused to report it (guardian). Another similar story is Taylor Swift’s experience with trying to own her own art. She recently left her old record label for a new one so that she legally could own her own music. To this day, her old record label and Scooter Braun have barred her from recording or performing any of the hits that they continue to own (vox). The music industry is a complex cosmos that is still untapped by those in the 'real' world.
All of these instances of abuse show me that this industry is one that the general public has no access to. A lot of us refuse to believe that sexism in the workplace exists, that structural sexism and racism still affects the art, culture, and world that we live in. Why is it that Carl Crawford is viciously trying to break the binds of Megan thee Stallion's restraining order? Is this another instance of control and grooming, or just another man trying to appropriate the success of women? Why do record labels and owners seem to see their female artists as their property, who they can manipulate to project any image they see fit and whose labor they can reap the profits of? I want to take this question further. I wonder why the image and performance of Black women is being so mass appropriated and manipulated when Black women are still being abused and cut out of their own success? Megan thee Stallion's sexuality is independent of the male gaze, empowered by the presence of other women, representative of unique bodies and looks, and unapologetically blunt. Her costuming, language, and focus on female pleasure embodies Hip Hop feminism and disregards respectability politics consistently. By separating herself from a controlling entity and attaining a manager, she is breaking the bonds of patriarchal control from the music industry. She, again, is controlling her own narrative, and all of it.
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