Missy Elliott Sues Music Producer Over Copyright to 1990 Recordings
Legendary hip-hop artist Missy Elliott is taking producer Terry Williams to court amid an ongoing legal battle surrounding several of her early recordings from nearly thirty years ago.
In the early 1990s, Elliott visited Williams' studio to rehearse on several occasions shortly following her success in the group Sista. During the sessions, 34 recordings were created, which Williams then later attempted to sell back to Elliott in 2017.
Williams' representative allegedly implied the producer would attempt to sell the recordings to someone else if Elliott did not buy them herself. The interaction sparked a lawsuit in which Williams sued the hit-making songstress for a breach of contract.
The suit was thrown out in February of this year after Elliott claimed no agreement existed between the two parties. Elliott has maintained that her work with Williams was for rehearsal purposes and Williams maintained a database of instrumentals at the time, which Elliott used to record over.
The original lawsuit's dismissal has led Elliot to pursue a suit of her own against Williams in an attempt to confirm she is the sole owner of the copyrights, thereby preventing Williams from monetizing the recordings in any capacity.
