Curb Records Sues Tim McGraw For Copyright Infringement

Nashville-based Curb Records has sued country entertainer Tim McGraw and his new record label, Big Machine Records, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee for copyright infringement, according to The City Paper.The lawsuit, filed Monday, claims that the copyright to McGraw’s debut Big Machine album Two Lanes of Freedom should actually belong to Curb Records. Curb Records alleges that McGraw recorded the songs while he was still under contract with the label.The suit further claims that McGraw also owes Curb a sixth album due to a 2001 settlement agreement regarding “greatest hits” albums that weren’t fulfilled.

“Curb Records, the recording industry and other industries that rely on personal service contracts … will suffer broad harm if McGraw and others can ignore the provisions of such agreements, selecting which provisions they may choose to follow and refusing to acknowledge others,” the suit states.

The lawsuit asks for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction to prevent McGraw from recording material until he has fulfilled the Curb contract. In September 2012, a Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a 2011 Chancery Court decision to deny Curb Records’ request for an injunction to bar McGraw from recording for another record label. McGraw signed with Big Machine in May 2012.

In May 2011, Curb sued McGraw for breach of contract, claiming the tracks on the Curb-released Emotional Traffic album were recorded outside of a contractually designated time period.