Lil Uzi’s Fight for 'Eternal Atake' Brings the Mistreatment of Artists Back into the Spotlight
Lil Uzi Vert’s fans rejoiced after the rapper announced he would not be retiring from music after an ongoing feud with Atlantic Records. However, the dramatic battle over Eternal Atake highlights one of the largest problems in the industry — the labels themselves.
Written by Jessica Regan
Photo courtesy of Pitchfork
Getting signed to a record label seems to always be the first goal of young musicians. They are hailed as the key to fame, success, money and resources in the music industry. However, the labels themselves can turn into the artists biggest enemy, making selfish choices and harmful decisions against the wishes of the people they represent.
The music industry is dominated by record labels, such as Sony Records and Def Jam Records, that sign on artists and give them an advance to produce music. All record companies have different levels of involvement with the entire process, from writing and recording to distribution and promotion. These large corporations then take in most of the funds and dish out royalties to artists, but only after the original advance is repaid.
Uzi signed on to a deal with DJ Drama and Don Cannon’s Generation Now label under Atlantic Records in 2015. Although the partnership was wildly successful in its first few years, Uzi’s sophomore EP Eternal Atake has caused an enormous fight between the label and the artist. Eternal Atake has been teased since July 2018, leaving fans impatient.
“You think I don’t wanna drop music?” Uzi said in an Instagram Live video, “You just gotta understand when people don’t love you, they’ll hold your life if you sign a muthaf--kin’ … Hold that shit against you.”
To make a long and complicated story short, Atlantic Records has been barring Uzi from releasing music for an unknown reason. Amid the growing frustration, Uzi announced he would be retiring from music completely and wanted to feel “normal again.”
It now seems that all hope is not lost, as Uzi has been working closely with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and self-released “Free Uzi,” his first single since 2018’s “New Patek,” on SoundCloud and Tidal. Uzi promised his fans he’s working to get this figured out and is feeling better about the situation.
Uzi’s statement that record companies “hold your life” may seem like an exaggeration at first, but these companies have an awful track record of disrespecting the talent that generates their revenues. Legally binding contracts make it nearly impossible for an artist to change the revenues they receive or the terms of their contract, let alone leave the label. The fight would be extremely in favor of the labels — one individual and their legal team versus a giant corporation with seemingly endless financial assets. For this exact reason, some artists choose to remain independent, like Chance the Rapper and MF Doom. Chance has been very vocal about the toxicity in the industry and the creative benefits of remaining independent.
When signing contracts, companies will hold rights to all music produced under them, as in Uzi’s situation. They will also make these contracts extremely stringent, making it difficult for artists to leave the label. In 2013, fans started a petition to “Free Ke$ha” from the creative suffocation of her producer, Dr. Luke — the same mantra found in Uzi’s single.
Ke$ha went through hell while trying to escape her record label, Sony, and the alleged ongoing abuse she suffered under her producer. Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald signed then 17-year-old Kesha Sebert on to a contract for at least six records.
The producer allegedly threw out dozens of songs written by Ke$ha and controlled all decisions for her album Warrior. There were also terrible decisions made by Gottwald, including releasing the single “Die Young” in the wake of the Sandy Hook Massacre, which Ke$ha publicly denounced in a series of deleted tweets.
When admitted into rehab in 2014, Ke$ha began telling doctors that Gottwald would drug and sexually assault her. In October 2014, Ke$ha’s lawyers filed a lawsuit that “portrays a violent and emotionally manipulative relationship between Kesha and the producer, and claims that Gottwald would ‘intimidate and torment’ her.” It also included descriptions of two times that Gottwald slipped the singer GHB and proceeded to rape her. Ke$ha later added an injunction against Sony, claiming they were knowingly complicit with the abuse.
A three-year legal battle ensued that ended in Gottwald seeing no direct punishment. All of Ke$ha’s claims in New York courts were dismissed in 2016, and her 2017 request to amend her case was denied. A large piece of evidence against Ke$ha was her previous sworn testimony that Gottwald had never sexually abused her, which she later said was a statement made out of fear and trauma.
124.4k Likes, 3,623 Comments - Kesha (@iiswhoiis) on Instagram: "Praying is here 🙏 I hope this song reaches people who are in the midst of struggles, to let them..."
There’s a similar point made in both Ke$ha and Uzi’s stories. To an artist, there is nothing worse than putting out work that you are not proud of. Both of these artists were, and are, stuck in situations where they felt as if the labels were not working in their best interest, or making decisions that ultimately hurt their career.
Adding insult to injury is the unfair compensation musicians receive for their talent. Contracts delegate royalties and revenues and often include a set percentage that do not reflect the time, effort, and talent of the artists.
A 2018 report by Citigroup found that while the music industry generated $43 billion in revenue, artists themselves only received 12% of the money. “In most forms of entertainment, the artist captures the lion’s share of the spoils,” the report says. “But because the music industry has so many intermediaries — and because the consumption of music is so fragmented across various platforms — the artist captures very little of the aggregate revenues.”
Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne famously claimed that Cash Money Records was downright stealing from the artists under the label. TMZ’s famous report, titled “Birdman SCREWED OVER Drake, Nicki and Tyga Too,” described Wayne’s “bitter lawsuit” for large sums of money against Birdman, the figurehead of Cash Money.
The suit originated over payments surrounding Wayne’s Tha Carter V, which was projected for release in 2014. In 2015, Wayne claimed Birdman and Cash Money were not giving him the money he earned from the album and wanted to end his contract. Wayne settled two lawsuits — one against Cash Money, the other against Cash Money’s distributor Universal Music Group — in 2018. After nearly three years of negotiations,the settlement of the two cases allowed Tha Carter V to finally drop in September 2018.
While most artists seem to soar through their career with little problems, the few that speak out have an incredibly hard time settling the issue or improving their situation. The assumption can be made that many artists probably choose to endure whatever decisions their record label makes for a variety of reasons. A David-and-Goliath situation ensues when an individual goes against a corporation. Artists feel disposable, knowing a label can ruin their career in the blink of an eye. They are afraid of losing an opportunity, their passion, and their livelihood.
The industry needs accountability. As Uzi continues to fight for his work, one can only hope that companies will start to treat their artists with more respect. But, sadly, in a world that favors big corporations, it’s unlikely drastic change will be made if these companies keep getting off scot-free.