‘Round and ‘Round Over a Contract

Many pop acts that have early success would like to get out of long-term recording contracts, but few have come up with as novel a case as R&B; sensation Dru Hill, which is suing to sever its brief but wildly successful relationship with PolyGram’s Island Records.

The young quartet, whose eponymous debut album has sold more than 1 million copies since last November, contends in a lawsuit that its members are afraid to work for the company that made them famous.

According to the suit, the members of Dru Hill are seeking to break their contract because of an “invidious terrorist campaign” of “violent and coercive” acts orchestrated against the group by Island and its agents.

PolyGram disputes the group’s claims and has countersued.

Many recording artists are signed to contracts that can run the length of their entire careers. Those contracts are typically signed before a group has had enough success to give it any negotiating leverage.

Although it’s common for the most successful acts to seek to renegotiate contracts, it is unusual for a group to try to leave a company after recording only one album on an eight-album deal. Dru Hill’s unique claim--fear of intimidation and violence--is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 17 in New York Superior Court, and the musicians are seeking $55 million in damages from PolyGram.

Dru Hill’s lawsuit hinges on an altercation at a nightclub in Atlanta on May 18 involving Hiriam Hicks, president of Island’s black music division, and Dru Hill manager Keith Ingram and attorney Londell McMillan. According to the suit, Hicks and his brother Joshua, described in the suit as an armed bodyguard, assaulted Ingram and McMillan--punching, kicking and pummeling them with a cue stick in front of the quartet.

The dispute is riddled with contradictory accounts of the events surrounding the altercation--from lawyers, advisors and record executives, all of whom stand to profit from the future earnings of Dru Hill.

Hicks declined to comment, but a representative for him contends Hicks never hit anyone.

Hicks’ brother also declined to comment. A representative for Joshua Hicks acknowledged that Joshua struck Ingram, but said that was only after Ingram threw a punch at Hiriam Hicks.

Authorities have not filed charges against either of the Hickses.

In fact, a Magistrate Court in Fulton County, Ga., denied Ingram’s application for an arrest warrant at a hearing four months ago, citing “credibility problems” with Ingram’s account. The office of the solicitor general in Fulton County also rejected the case, questioning the timing of Ingram’s arrest warrant application, which “followed shortly after a breakdown in attempts by the principals to renegotiate” their record contract.

PolyGram, which has since countersued Dru Hill, contends the group’s representatives are using the brawl as a bargaining chip to obtain a more lucrative recording deal for the group.

“This is not about money,” McMillan said in a phone interview. “Money cannot make you less fearful. Artists must have comfort in their spirit in order to produce music. Dru Hill does not want to be around people who use violence and intimidation. I know PolyGram is attempting to marginalize this as a negotiation ploy, but there is no hope to renegotiate the contract.”

McMillan would not allow Dru Hill members to be interviewed for this report.

Dru Hill and their representatives have met several times over the last two months with Hicks and other Island officials in an attempt to settle their differences. During the final meeting three weeks ago, Dru Hill’s representatives rejected a proposal from Island that included a $5-million advance and a royalty upgrade of 20% on the sale of each album, sources said. These are generous terms by industry standards.

One reason the negotiations may have failed to yield results, sources say, is that Dru Hill’s record company, its production company, its management team and legal advisors are wrestling for control of the act’s future.

In 1993, the unknown quartet signed an exclusive contract with a tiny Washington-based production company called University Entertainment, which pays the group about 12% on the sale of each album, sources said. Dru Hill, like many R&B; performers, pays about half that royalty to the people who produce their records and manage their careers.

About 18 months ago, University signed a manufacturing and distribution deal with Island to release Dru Hill’s music. Under that deal, Island is required to advance University funds to underwrite recording and video production costs as well as pay University an 18% royalty on each Dru Hill album sold, sources said.

One problem for Dru Hill is that any proposed cash advance or royalty upgrade made as a result of renegotiations on its current deal would be paid directly to University--not to the group. In addition, a percentage of the proposed $5-million advance would be paid to Ingram, McMillan and others on Dru Hill’s legal team.

In recent weeks, representatives for Dru Hill and University have been squabbling with one another as well as with officials at Island and PolyGram, sources said.

Dru Hill’s debut album has spawned three hit singles and sold more than a million copies since its release one year ago. That’s a strong start for a new act.

It is standard practice in the music industry for a record company to renegotiate the terms of an act’s contract after it has achieved some success. In April, University and Island began to renegotiate Dru Hill’s contract and to discuss ways to gain better exposure for University’s logo on promotional material.

By the first week of May, representatives for University and Dru Hill had accused Hicks of trying to gain influence over Dru Hill by criticizing its management team and production company. That week, Dru Hill’s manager and University rejected Island’s offer of a $1-million advance, sources said.

On May 18, an argument at an Atlanta club between Hicks and Ingram escalated into a brawl. According to the suit, Hicks attacked Ingram with a pool stick and Hicks’ brother pummeled and kicked Ingram and McMillan in front of the group.

Ingram, however, did not file a police report until two days after the brawl. McMillan never filed a police report.

In June, Ingram and his legal team resumed contract renegotiations with Island, sources said. But after several attempts, the talks fell apart again. In late June, Ingram returned to Atlanta and applied for an arrest warrant against Hicks and his brother.

On July 15, the application to press criminal charges against Hicks and his brother was denied at a hearing in the Magistrate Court of Fulton County. Dru Hill’s representatives filed a civil suit against Island in New York on July 25. That case has been consolidated with later suits against Island filed by Ingram and University.

On Sept. 5, the Fulton County solicitor general’s office rejected an additional request by Ingram to launch a criminal investigation into the matter. Herman Sloan, chief assistant solicitor general of Fulton County, questioned inconsistencies in Ingram’s account and the “not-so-veiled attempts to embroil [the solicitor general’s] office” in Dru Hill’s contract negotiations.

During October, the judge in Dru Hill’s civil case ordered a handful of PolyGram’s most senior officials, including PolyGram Chief Executive Eric Cronfeld, to appear and testify at depositions in the case. A week before those depositions, Ingram and McMillan met again with Hicks and other Island officials but rejected their offer.

“PolyGram can try to distort this any way they want to in the press,” McMillan said. “We’re going to trial. We’ll see them in court.”