Rita Ora is being countersued by Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation management company and record label.
The singer was one of Roc Nation’s first signings in 2008, penning a management contract and label deal. Ora was 18-years-old at the time.
Having released just one album, 2012 debut ‘Ora’, since signing to Roc Nation, X Factor judge Ora filed a lawsuit in December, alleging that her contract with the label “violates California law and is unenforceable.”
Ora’s original complaint read: “When Rita signed, Roc Nation and its senior executives were very involved with her as an artist. As Roc Nation’s interests diversified, there were fewer resources available and the company suffered a revolving door of executives. Rita’s remaining supporters at the label left or moved on to other activities, to the point where she no longer had a relationship with anyone at the company.”
It also called Roc Nation a “diminished” record label with “only a handful of admittedly worthy heritage superstar artists.” One of Ora’s other complaints is that her music is still being distributed by Sony, even after the label switched distribution partners to Universal in 2013.
GettyIn response, Roc Nation is countersuing Ora for $2.4 million (£1.6m), claiming that the label has spent more than $2 million (£1.4m) developing and marketing the singer’s second album, which is yet to be released.
According to Page Six, Roc Nation says that Ora was an “unknown singer” when they signed her and that the label “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”.
Rita Ora served as a judge for the twelfth series of The X Factor in 2015, having previously been a judge on rival show The Voice.