On July 2020, during the height of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, the massive country band formerly known as Lady Antebellum changed their name to Lady A. The name change was a result of the fact that the term “antebellum” has connections to slavery, often being used to refer to the period of America before the American Civil War that resulted in the end of slavery.
While clearly a well intentioned gesture, the name-change did not go on without its opponents. Specifically, a blues singer who went by Lady A for two decades prior to the country band’s name change, named Anita White, strongly objected to the fact that her name was now taken by a much larger group, without her foreknowledge or consent.
The country band had originally claimed that the two parties had agreed to share the name over a Zoom call. However, Anita White had asked for $10 million in payment from the band, in hopes that they would simply give up the name. The country band claimed that they had acquired a trademark for the name Lady A years ago, which led to the band suing White for the rights to use the name. Anita White proceeded to file countersuit.
Now, it seems like this conflict may have come to a resolution. Consequence Sound reported that on Monday, both parties have filed joint requests for dismissal of the lawsuits. However, it is pointed out that we do not know what the implications of this mutual agreement will be for both artists. Will both artists continue to operate under the same name? Will one side be paying the other? None of these details have been made clear, but hopefully we will gain a better understanding of the two Lady A’s agreements in the near future.
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