T.I. Sues Cinq Music Over Blocked Catalog Buyback

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UPDATE (April 29):

A spokesperson for Cinq Music has released the following statement to XXL regarding T.I’s lawsuit:

“Cinq Music believes in integrity and fairness. We work across the board to foster creativity and ensure our artists are compensated equitably. At the same time, we disagree with the points made by the opposing party as stated in the article. In our opinion, the other side is making a push for Cinq to accept a valuation which is clearly off-base. We will respond through the appropriate legal channels, and continue to seek an agreement fair to all parties.”

ORIGINAL STORY (April 29):

T.I. has filed a lawsuit against Cinq Music claiming the company is refusing to honor their contract which allows him to buy back his music catalog at a low price.

According to a Digital Music News report, published on Tuesday (April 28), Tip, born Clifford Harris, is suing Cinq Music, an independent record label and publisher, claiming the company is blocking a 2017 contract clause that allows the Atlanta rhymer to buy back the masters recordings of his music catalog. Cinq purchased T.I.’s Atlantic Records-era catalog including his most successful albums: King, T.I. vs. TIP and Paper Trail.

In the complaint, T.I. alleged that Cinq gave him an option to buy back the albums at a later date on “very favorable” terms; but now the label is “artificially inflating” the price to block the sale. The rap veteran claimed the original agreement set for the buyback price was around $3 million, but Cinq is allegedly demanding $52 million.

“Cinq regretted that it had agreed to the [terms], and, therefore […] did everything it could to frustrate [Harris’] efforts to complete the purchase,” the rapper’ attorney, Robert Jacobs, reportedly wrote in the suit.

“Because it was common knowledge when the parties entered into the Cinq agreement in 2017 that audio streaming and video streaming via the DSPs had become the main driver of music industry growth and revenues, Cinq had ample reason to know then that the [streaming] exclusion would have a significant impact on the [price],” Jacobs added.

T.I. also claimed Cinq fudged with the royalty deductions to “artificially inflate” the buyback price. The rapper’s lawyers argue the label purposely violated the contract agreement with the hopes of forcing a negotiation for a much higher payout.

XXL has reached out to T.I.’s attorney, his rep, and Cinq Music for comment.

Meanwhile, T.I. is prepping for the release of his twelfth and final studio album, Kill The King. The set’s first single is the Pharrell-produced banger, “Let ‘Em Know.”