Summer Walker is being sued by Interscope Records for more than $50 million after the R&B star moved to walk away from the record deal she signed in 2017. The label filed the lawsuit Friday, October 9, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to Rolling Stone, which obtained the complaint.
Interscope, which is owned by Universal Music Group, claims Walker still owes two studio albums and an EP under her contract. The label says those undelivered recordings represent more than $50 million in lost profits, and it is asking for damages, interest and legal costs, with the final amount to be decided at trial.
The fight started in August, when Walker told Interscope she would stop working under the agreement as of August 27. To get out, she invoked a California law most people in the music business simply call the seven year rule.
The rule dates back to 1944 and is part of California’s labor code. It says no one can be held to a personal services contract, meaning a deal where you are paid for your own work or talent, for longer than seven years. Actress Olivia de Havilland famously used it to break free from Warner Bros. in the 1940s, and entertainers have leaned on it ever since.
Record labels, however, got a carve out. In 1987, California amended the law so recording artists can still leave after seven years, but labels can sue for damages over albums the artist agreed to make and never delivered. Labels only get 45 days after receiving a termination notice to file that kind of lawsuit, which is why Interscope’s complaint landed when it did.
Summer Walker signed in 2017 through a joint deal with Interscope and Love Renaissance, the Atlanta label and management company known as LVRN. According to reports on the complaint, the label counts three of her projects toward the deal: Over It in 2019, Still Over It in 2021 and Finally Over It in 2025. Interscope’s position is that her EPs do not satisfy the album commitment.
Those albums took Summer Walker from an Atlanta singer posting videos online to one of the biggest names in R&B. Over It landed the largest streaming debut ever for a female R&B artist at the time of its release, and Still Over It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Interscope says it did not want to end up in court. A label spokesperson said the company is still hopeful that ongoing talks lead to an amicable resolution, but that the statutory deadline forced it to file in order to protect the terms of the contract. The spokesperson added that the label has great respect for Summer and would welcome the chance to continue the partnership.
Summer Walker’s camp is not backing down. In a statement, her side said it was disappointed that Interscope chose to pursue litigation but remains confident in “Summer’s legal position and her right to challenge the continued enforceability of her recording contract.”
Walker was a newcomer when she signed in 2017. Nearly nine years later, she says the deal has run its course. Interscope says it has not, and a Los Angeles court will now decide what, if anything, she owes.
