Artists Rights Enforcement Corporation is going after Dionne Warwick in federal court, saying the 85-year-old legend is trying to dodge payments that could hit millions of dollars. The firm claims it set up the deal that let Doja Cat sample Walk On By for Paint the Town Red back in 2023, and it says Warwick is attempting to cut them out after decades of handling her royalty collections.
The company says it worked under a 2002 agreement that gave them half of whatever they recovered from her Scepter Records catalog, and they claim they bumped up her royalty distributions by about 60 times what she was getting before. They say they covered legal costs for her Warner Bros. lawsuit, fixed her dormant Sony account after a tax lien mess, and handled a bunch of other royalty disputes over the years.
Warwick apparently sent a letter in September trying to end the original contract, and she allegedly told labels like Rhino and Sony to start paying her directly instead of going through Artists Rights. The firm wants a court to confirm it still get its cut from various revenue streams.
The company says it worked under a 2002 agreement that gave them half of whatever they recovered from her Scepter Records catalog, and they claim they bumped up her royalty distributions by about 60 times what she was getting before. They say they covered legal costs for her Warner Bros. lawsuit, fixed her dormant Sony account after a tax lien mess, and handled a bunch of other royalty disputes over the years.
Warwick apparently sent a letter in September trying to end the original contract, and she allegedly told labels like Rhino and Sony to start paying her directly instead of going through Artists Rights. The firm wants a court to confirm it still get its cut from various revenue streams.
