Lady Gaga Fires Back At Former Producer’s Lawsuit

News broke this past week that Lady Gaga was being sued for $30.5 million by her former producer and ex-boyfriend Rob Fusari. Fusari claimed that Gaga was his protege and former girlfriend and she ditched him as her career took off. He stated in the lawsuit that they co-wrote songs such as “Paparazzi” and “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich.” Fusari also said he came up with her stage name and helped get her record deal.

According to the lawsuit, Lady Gaga and Fusari’s relationship turned romantic and then became a business partnership in May 2006, when they created a joint venture called Team Love Child LLC to promote her career. Fusari’s share was 20 percent.

Lady Gaga and her lawyer, Charles Ortner, are firing back. In their response, Ortner wrote that the deal was “structured in such a way as to mask its true purpose — to provide to the defendants unlawful compensation for their services as unlicensed employment agents.”

Ortner also wrote that Fusari and his company violated statutes that prohibited them from “acting as employment agents without a license and charging Lady Gaga an unlawful fee for their purported services.”

Fusari’s lawyer, Robert S. Meloni, called the claim “ludicrous” in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

“Fusari is a PARTNER in the Team Love LLC with Gag and her father (through their company Mermaid),” Meloni wrote. “Rob was no more of an ‘agent’ for her than she is a Roman Catholic nun.”

So what do you guys think? Does Fusari deserve a piece of Gaga’s pie?

Lenny Kravitz Denies Leaking Michael Jackson Collaboration Track

Lenny Kravitz want’s to make it clear that he did not leak the Michael Jackson track, “Another Day” that he recorded with the King of Pop.

Lenny Kravitz posted a video of himself sitting among trees and telling fans that the version of “Another Day” which surfaced online Sunday night was not leaked by him.

“Mine has been locked up in a vault since we recorded it,” he says. “The version that’s out is a minute and 30 seconds, roughly, of the track — not mixed, but it is the track. The DJ who’s speaking over the track, I don’t know who that person is, I don’t know how he obtained it…but that person has nothing to do with the track.”

Of his collaboration with Jackson, Kravitz says, “I produced it for him; I wrote the song and played all the instruments for him on the track. It was one of the most amazing musical experiences I’ve ever had. It was done by two people who respect each other and who love music.”
Meanwhile, new leaks of “Another Day” continue to pop up online as Jackson’s label tries to shut them down. For his part, Kravitz says he wants the final and complete version of the song to see the light of day.

“I’d like to see this thing get straightened out as soon as possible,” Kravitz says, “because I’d like for you — the fans, the people who love Michael — to hear the track in its entirety the way it was meant to be…so that’s all being worked out, as I sit here in the bush. I’ll get back to you as soon as I have more information.”

No Doubt “Band Hero” Lawsuit

No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision, protesting the use of their avatars in Band Hero.

“No Doubt agreed to place avatars containing their name and likeness performing three No Doubt songs in the upcoming Band Hero game of the Guitar Hero series from Activision,” reads a statement from the band, obtained by Rolling Stone Magazine this week. “Without the band’s knowledge or approval Activision turned the group into virtual karaoke players by having them perform over 60 additional songs by other musical groups.

Eminem’s Music Publishers Sue Apple

Eminem’s Music Publishers, Eight Mile Style LLC, are suing Apple Inc, claiming they “never authorized the use of 93 songs in a downloadable format on Apple’s popular iTunes service.”

Eminem’s people are claiming they have lost upwards of $2.5 million from Itunes download sales, with $466,915 of it coming from Eminem’s biggest hit “Lose Yourself,” off the 8 Mile soundtrack.

The publisher is also seeking financial claims on the sale of iPods.

Apple has denied the claims and say they have a legal and viable contract with Aftermath Records, the label that controls the recordings in question. Eminem’s publishers claim that Aftermath had no right to provide the recordings and are also suing the label as well.