tim mcGraw files countersuit

Tim McGraw has filed a countersuit against Curb Records, the Nashville record company that helped launch his career nearly 20 years ago but that McGraw now says wants to enforce his “involuntary servitude” by trying to keep him under a long-standing contract.
It’s the latest legal twist in one of the longest-running country music industry relationships in Nashville — one that made McGraw a star, spawned numerous hit songs and earned both parties millions of dollars before turning ugly.
McGraw is seeking unspecified punitive damages against Curb Records, an advance payment for his latest recordings and a legal ruling he has fulfilled the terms of his contract at Curb and is free to move on.
“After a nearly 19-year relationship with Curb Records which has provided unprecedented success for both parties, Curb has taken actions that are harmful to Tim McGraw’s career,” a McGraw spokesman said. “It is with great regret that he responds with a countersuit, but the label has left him with no other option.”

The relationship soured in recent years, with McGraw publicly railing at the terms of his Curb contract. It came to a head two weeks ago when Curb Records, headed by music mogul Mike Curb, filed a breach of contract suit against McGraw.
The legal dispute centers on McGraw’s latest album, Emotional Traffic, which the singer called his “absolute last album with Curb if it kills him.”
Meanwhile, Curb officials complained McGraw “dumped” the album on the record label.
The label claims McGraw is obligated to record two more albums with the label. McGraw’s countersuit claims he has fulfilled terms of the deal and should be released.
While McGraw’s attorneys don’t dispute that the recordings were made in late 2009 and 2010, during the period his album Southern Voices was released, they dispute that the contract requires him to record songs in a specified time period.
Curb attorney Jay Bowen said the contract’s language is clear, and that McGraw’s legal filing is an admission he didn’t fulfill the terms of that deal.
“Tim McGraw has admitted he did not comply with the recording contract that clearly sets out when he must record,” Bowen said.