... and here I thought it was doing well. Read on...


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Madonna's Label a $66 Million Loser -Court Documents
Tue Apr 20, 8:50 PM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Tamara Conniff

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Madonna (news - web sites)'s Maverick Records label, home to the Material Girl as well as Alanis Morissette (news) and Michelle Branch (news), has lost $66 million since 1999, according to recently unsealed court documents filed by its adversary and partner, Warner Music Group.

The documents relate to the latest spat in the 12-year-relationship between Maverick and Warner Music, which was recently bought from Time Warner Inc. by an investment group led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr.

Last month, Maverick sued Warner Music for $200 million, claiming breach of contract and fraud. The Warner documents were part of a pre-emptive claim filed in a Delaware court asking a judge to find that the company had fulfilled its commitment to Maverick.

The documents claim that in order for Maverick to get out of its joint venture with Warner Music, which is up at the end of the year, Maverick will have to pay $92.5 million, in addition to the value of Warner's interest in the label. The price tag includes the $66 million in losses, a $20 million loan and $6.5 million in unrecouped fees.

According to Warner Music's filing, if Maverick cannot raise the money needed to buy itself out the joint venture, Warner can convert the label into a "purely passive economic interest," taking all control of the label away from Maverick. In this case, Maverick would reap no profits from the label until the losses were repaid.

A Warner Music spokesman declined to comment. Maverick could not be immediately reached. The label is gearing up for the May 18 release of Morissette's first album in two years, "So-Called Chaos." The following week, Madonna begins a world tour in Los Angeles.


Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Is Meshell still an active artist on their roster? Or is her jazz album being handled by a different label?

im surprised that alanis has been under contract for so long....she appears to not have sold alot of cd's since jagged little pill.

BBC reported on it too....


Madonna's record label Maverick has lost $66m (£37m) since 1999, according to court documents filed by its parent company Warner Music.
The recently unsealed documents are the latest twist in an ongoing dispute between the pop star and the company.

Madonna is suing Warner Music for $200m (£112.5m), claiming its mismanagement and improper accounting has cost her and her partners millions of dollars.

Maverick's line-up of artists include Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch.

According to trade paper Hollywood Reporter, the documents form part of a pre-emptive claim in which Warner Music asserts it has fulfilled its commitment to Madonna's record label.

The "sealed lawsuit" was filed in a Delaware court on 24 March - one day before Madonna lodged her legal action in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Subsequently unsealed, the documents claim Madonna must pay $92.5m (£52m) - in addition to the value of Warner's interest in Maverick - in order to terminate its agreement with the parent company.

The $92.5m includes the $66m incurred in losses, a $20m (£11.2m) loan and $6.5m (£3.6m) in unpaid fees

Warner Music say that if the money is not forthcoming, it can legitimately convert Maverick into a "purely passive economic interest".

If this were to happen, Warner would take control of the label and Maverick would receive no share of the profits until the losses were repaid.

The issue is further complicated by the fact that Madonna is also signed to Warner as a solo artist, and begins a world tour in May.

Another factor is the imminent release of Morissette's first album in two years, So-Called Chaos.

Warner Music has called Maverick's accusations "baseless, unsubstantiated and without merit", but has attempted to distance the action from its other dealings with Madonna.

"This effort to resolve ongoing contractual issues surrounding the Maverick Records joint venture agreement in no way impacts the company's deep respect for Madonna," it said in a statement released last month.

Madonna and business partners Guy Oseary and Ronnie Dashev - who have a 60 per cent stake in Maverick - seek to end the label's partnership with Warner Music so they can collaborate with other companies.

Well,at least now we know why Madonna's concert ticket prices are so high

Maybe she wants to "buy out" Warner's share of the company...lol...

DavidEye said:

um, with ticket prices like those, do we all get stock in the company with the cost of admission?

DavidEye said:

um, with ticket prices like those, do we all get stock in the company with the cost of admission?

ThreadBare said:

"Comfort Woman" is on Maverick. I know! I mean you'd have to figure all the revnue from that album...

Just kidding. I know that's not what you asked.

Christopher said:

Even though have slowed down since "Jagged..." the numbers are still better than anything else on Maverick. I know Michelle gets a lot of radio play but I'm not sure how her albums sell. Pretty good I think. Other than Alanis, Michelle and Meshell, I think the only thing Maverick does besides Madonna's albums (probably the most steady money maker for them despite the low sales for AL) are soundtracks, mostly for big comdies (the Austin Powers movies, and several for Adam Sandler's movies) and lately does do not sell like they used to.

ThreadBare said:

Back when it was released Meshell thought her third album Bitter might have been the last one for Maverick. She's never been a commercial artist really. She's uncompromising to the point that she's not gonna allow her music and identity to be diluted by the game and its marketing beast. Touring is mainly what she relies on.

Do you mean is she still on the roster since Comfort Woman was released? I don't know. And I do *think* her jazz album is supposed to be on another label.

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[This message was edited Wed Apr 21 12:42:52 2004 by Supernova]