By Jamil Oakford/ editor-in-chief
On Feb. 19, a New York Supreme Court justice ruled that recording artist Kesha had to uphold her contract with Sony despite her claims that she could no longer work with Sony producer Dr. Luke due to allegations of sexual abuse.
Sony told Kesha after the ruling, that it would pair her with another producer, but what’s the point of that? Who would actually want to work for a company that not only hired someone like Dr. Luke but also continues to have him on payroll?
Thankfully, many female artists spoke up in defense of Kesha with the backup of fans and supporters across the Internet. Artists like Miley Cyrus, Halsey, Ariana Grande, Lorde, Lady Gaga and several others spoke up in defense of Kesha almost immediately after the ruling. And JoJo, who was stuck in her own contractual battle for nearly four years, offered words of support.
As far as kind words go, mentally and spiritually, this could do a lot for Kesha. But the “Tik Tok” artist needs more. She needs real action.
Contracts for any business can have some wiggle room, but recording artists seem to have the most trouble getting out of them. JoJo went through years of court appearances and lawsuits to get her way out of a contract.
That could be detrimental to an artist’s career. Spending that much time out of the public eye can lead to artists fading into obscurity and away from the forefront of a listener’s mind.
But letting Kesha go might seriously harm Dr. Luke’s label more than they’ve let on.
While Kesha is on Kemosabe Records, a syndicate of Sony and Dr. Luke’s label, Sony can’t directly drop her. But Kemosabe has only seen success in the form of Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” That song alone is keeping them out of the red, and Kesha is the next most-successful artist on the label.
Either way, Kesha deserves some say in this process. If she wants out of a contract that she has had since she was 18, she should have the right to bow out of it. And if the accusations against Dr. Luke are 100 percent true, she more than deserves the right to find another label.
