EDM producer/musician/singer Zhu (born Steven Zhu) is being sued by his long time collaborator, David Dann, after an alleged contract breach, in a California state court. As previously reported on Pitchfork, “In the lawsuit, David Dann and his legal team allege that Zhu breached written and oral contracts with Dann; they also accuse Zhu of promissory fraud. Dann is asking for at least $3.45 million in damages.” Currently the case, in point, is said to be heard in court on February 25, 2021.
Dann, CEO and founder of the Los Angles-based independent label Mind of a Genius Records, founded his own label back in 2013 with one of his first signees being Zhu. Based on the above in-depth source, “In the complaint, David Dann says that he and Steven Zhu met in 2013. Dann alleges that Zhu showed him ‘a melody for what would later become the topline’ for the song ‘Faded,’ and that he worked with Zhu to finish the song.”
The song ‘Faded’ was released on April 20, 2014 via Mind of a Genius. The track peaked at No. 12 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and earned ZHU 2015 Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording.
Citing the success of the collaboration, Dann says he quit his own career to work with Zhu and that Zhu allegedly joined Mind of a Genius ‘as an equal partner.’ According to the complaint, “Dann sought talent manager Jake Udell and his TH3RD BRAIN management company in 2013 to assist in managing Zhu’s career.”
Zhu’s major release was in the form of his first 2014 EP titled The Nightday, via Mind of A Genius Records, which features the aforementioned single in question “Faded.” Since then Zhu has released two full-length studio albums: his 2016 debut Generationwhy (also with Columbia Records) and his 2018 sophomore follow-up Ringos Desert, via Mind of A Genius Records.
Zhu’s side of the story disputes Dann’s claims in the aforementioned lawsuit. According to the above source, “Dann says that in October 2013, Zhu entered into a Management Agreement with Jake Udell, who would be paid ‘20% of all music-related income Zhu earned,’ and that the commission would be ‘owed in ‘perpetuity.’”
At the same time, Dann says that he entered into a Producer Agreement with Zhu that allegedly would give Dann a 10% commission. Dann claims that the terms of his agreement mirrored the terms of Udell’s, meaning he, too, would get commission in perpetuity.
In their objection to the lawsuit, Zhu and his team claim that the Management Agreement is ‘materially different’ from the Producer Agreement and that the Management Agreement “does not provide Dann any relevant contractual rights.”
Zhu and his legal team further the differences of Dann’s account of the situation, “Dann says that, in that time, he produced songs for Zhu, recruited guest artists to feature on tracks, worked with Udell to promote ZHU’s career, and earned his 10% commission. All the while, Dann claims that ‘Zhu expressly acknowledged in several written and oral communications’ the terms of the Producer Agreement.
Dann alleges that Zhu attempted to renegotiate his Producer Agreement, hoping to reduce the period of Dann’s commissions from ‘in perpetuity’ to 15 years. Dann refused, and, around December 2019, Zhu ‘decided to part ways’ with Dann, allegedly refusing to pay further commission. Dann claims this is a breach of oral and written contracts.
In the objection, Zhu and his legal team argue that the facts put forth in Dann’s complaint are ‘insufficient’ to back up the claims, citing a lack of specificity and that the Producer Agreement was, in fact, an undated ‘Deal Memo’ that lacked any mention of post-term commission.”
Last year, the enigmatic EDM producer Zhu headlined MTV’s SnowGlobe Music Festival.
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