Kanye West, bawal magretiro
MUKHANG mahihirapang magretiro si Kanye West mula sa paglikha ng mga awitin, anumang oras niya gustuhin.
Ayon sa Yahoo Music, noong Enero ay nagsampa ng kaso ang asawa ni
Kim Kardashian laban sa EMI Music Publishing at Roc-a-Fella Records ng Universal Music Group, bilang “attempt” to “obtain his freedom” at magkaroon ng karapatan sa kanyang mga awitin, at para na rin makalaya mula sa kanyang mga publishing at label deals. Nakakuha ang The Hollywood
Reporter ng kopya ng complaint, kung saan nakasaad ang deklarasyong hindi pinapayagan ng kumpanya na magretiro si Kanye.
“You (Mr. West) hereby represent and warrant that to [EMI] that You will, throughout the Term as extended by this Modification, remain actively involved in writing, recording and producing Compositions and Major Label Albums, as Your principle occupation. At no time during the Term will you seek to retire as a songwriter, recording artist or producer or take any extended hiatus during which you are not actively pursuing Your musical career in the same basic manner as You have pursued such career to date. (The preceding representation shall not be deemed to prevent You from taking a vacation of limited duration.)”
Pumirma ng kontrata si Kanye sa EMI noong 2003. Para mapawalang-bisa ang kasunduan, iginiit ng legal team ng singer ang California Labor Code Section 2855, na nagbibigay ng limitasyon sa personal service contracts nang hindi hihigit sa pitong taon.
Ang batas ay kinikilala sa Hollywood at ito ang naging susi ni Gone with the
Wind actress Olivia de Havilland para mapawalang-bisa ang kontrata niya sa Warner Bros. (The studio extended her contract upon suspensions over her supposed refusal to take roles in the 1940s.) Kung papanig ang judge kay Kanye, mapupunta ulit sa kanya ang karapatan para sa mga kanta niya, gaya ng Power, All of the Lights at Monster, mula sa kanyang Beautiful
Dark Twisted Fantasy album, na isa sa pinakamatagumpay na album hanggang sa kasalukuyan.
“It makes no difference under section 2855 whether the contract is otherwise fair, or whether the employer has fulfilled its end of the bargain,” nakasaad sa reklamo ni Kanye, as per THR.
“It matters only whether the services began more than seven years ago. There can be no dispute that this happened here. The seven-year period ended under this contract on October 1, 2010. For more than eight years thereafter — more than double the maximum seven-year period California law allows — EMI has enforced rights in violation of California law, depriving Mr. West of the ‘breathing period’ that California law mandates.”