UPDATED 1/11/19 2:13 p.m. ET: Travis Scott and Empire Music Ventures have reportedly settled their legal battle.
Sources told The Blast that Scott agreed to return a $217,500 deposit to the concert promoter, which accused him of fraud and breach of contract. Empire Music Ventures sued the Huston rapper, claiming he backed out of a gig for the 2019 Rhythm, Wine & Brews Experience; but an insider says Scott never formally agreed to do the show.
Per The Blast:
We’re told the person who booked Scott was not his official booker and the rapper had never agreed to do the show. One source called it a simple situation of someone jumping the gun and saying they could get Travis when they couldn’t.
Attorney Perry Wander confirmed that the lawsuit had been settled. The case will be dismissed.
UPDATED 1/9/19 11:40 a.m. ET: Travis Scott's legal team has provided a statement in response to the lawsuit in which it's claimed Empire Music Ventures has "absolutely no basis" to sue the artist. You can read it in full below.
"Travis does not know anyone from Empire Music Ventures, and he certainly did not enter into any kind of discussion or contract with them. He has no relationship with the management company The Odd Group, which purportedly entered into the alleged contract. Any lawsuit that may have been filed against Travis and his company has absolutely no basis."
See original story published on 1/7/19 below.
Travis Scott was reportedly set to give a 75-minute performance at the 2019 Rhythm, Wine & Brews Experience, but the Blast now says that company behind the festival is suing the rapper for allegedly stealing over $200,000. Empire Music Ventures filed suit against Scott on Friday, Jan. 4 for fraud and breach of contract.
The documents obtained by the Blast say Scott signed a contract to perform at the fest, which is held at the same location as Coachella in Indio, California. He was to be paid $400,000 to perform on March 2 and was reportedly given a deposit of $217,500. Empire Music Ventures say they reached an agreement on Nov. 7, 2018, but after the deposit was paid to him on Dec. 3, Scott's team called to cancel the performance without explaining why.
It's worth pointing that on March 2 Travis Scott is set to perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with a show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn the next day. Due to the sudden cancelation of Scott's appearance at the fest, Empire released a statement announcing the nixing of entire event. "Due to a last minute cancellation by our festival headliner, we have no other choice than to cancel the 2019 Rhythm, Wine & Brews Experience," they explained
In their lawsuit Empire claim, "defendants have stolen [the] Plaintiff’s money." They added that Scott and his manager have refused to return the money, and have "wrongfully converted it to their own use." The contract states that Travis Scott could not "contract or advertise any other performance within a 120-mile radius for 90 days before or 30 days after March 2."
