Roc Nation's has taken its turn to fire the shots at Rita Ora after the singer filed a lawsuit against Jay Z's music label late last year. The British singer filed the original action to seek the nullification of her contract with Roc Nation, which she claims has "orphaned" her as an artist and has not supported her music career.
The countersuit filed by Roc Nation denied Ora's allegation that she was abandoned by the label. Jay Z's music company said they had invested millions of dollars into Rita Ora's music career in the United States, further claiming that the money used "were instrumental in guiding Ms. Ora to her current level of success and fame," as noted by Vulture.
Moreover, Roc Nation finds fault in Rita Ora's end, who they claimed violated the terms of the contract they signed in 2008. Under the said contract, the "How We Do" singer was supposed to come out with five albums over a certain period. Ora has only released one album a few singles since.
A long overdue second album, which Roc Nation funded with $2.3 million, has been left abandoned. Roc Nation's countersuit also calls for the recovery of that sum of money plus damages to indemnify the company for the albums that did not materialize.
"Roc Nation has tirelessly promoted her career, investing millions of dollars in marketing, recording and other costs, which was instrumental in guiding Ms Ora to her current level of success and fame," read Roc Nation's countersuit, as reported by Page Six.
But it seems that not all hope is lost for both parties.
Rita Ora's lawyer, Howard E. King, is certain that Rita Ora and Roc Nation founder Jay Z will be able to come up with an agreeable settlement. According to The Guardian, King claimed that Jay Z had reached out to Ora and promised her that she will be released from the company once they finalize the details of her exit. The next step for them is to obtain Sony Music's approval for the settlement.
"We believe that Roc Nation's distributor, Sony Music, has required Roc Nation to file this action to preserve whatever rights Sony might have pending resolution," King said.
In her complaint, Rita Ora invoked California's De Havilland Law, which stipulates seven-year rule on contracts involving personal service. This rule means that contracts are legally binding only until the signee has completed seven actual years of service.
