Toni Braxton Settles Suit With Barry Hankerson, Blackground

Vocalist Toni Braxton has settled her lawsuit with former manager Barry Hankerson and the label he founded, Blackground Records. Both parties issued press statements to that effect late Tuesday (February 13th). Under the terms of the settlement, Braxton has no further recording obligations to Hankerson or to Blackground Records and is free to pursue agreements with other labels. "My freedom from Barry Hankerson is priceless, and means everything to me," declared the Grammy-winning singer in her statement.

Hankerson's legal team was also jubilant, noting that the singer does have a couple of financial obligations to her former record label: She is required to pay back the $375,000 advance she received for the scheduled follow-up to her 2005 album Libra, and must pay the label and unspecified percentage from sales of her next album.

Braxton trial lawyer Peter L. Haviland stated that the issue was never money. "This settlement allows Ms. Braxton immediately to start new projects of her choice," he said. "She wanted to end her relationship with Blackground and Barry Hankerson, and she has. Money has never been what motivates her. Integrity -- artistic and personal -- does."

Blackground Records attorneys Rickey Ivie and Samuel E. Chilakos maintain that Braxton's suit was without merit. "When Barry Hankerson began working with Toni Braxton in 1997, he loaned her a substantial amount of money to assist her in dealing with a much publicized bankruptcy," reads their statement. "As her manager, he negotiated a contract on her behalf with Arista Records that paid her an advance of $23,000,000. However, after only two albums, Arista released her from her contract. At Braxton's behest, Hankerson signed Braxton to Blackground Records, where she released only one of the three albums she committed to. "

By: Janine Coveney
icebergradio.com

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