T-Boz Explains How TLC Bought Back The Rights To Their Name Along With The Amount They Paid For Each Letter

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, a founding member of TLC, revealed that the group paid $1 million per letter to reclaim the rights to their name. The total of $3 million ensured Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas retained full ownership of the TLC brand following the death of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in 2002.

In a Facebook video posted by DJ Envy of “The Breakfast Club,” Watkins revealed that the band paid $1 million per letter to own the rights to their band’s name.

“A million dollars per letter, honey,” she said in the video. “To buy back the name TLC.”

She did not disclose from whom they purchased the rights, adding only, “You know from whom. We ain’t gonna say.”

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the monumental success of their 1994 album, “CrazySexyCool,” produced hits like “Creep” and “Waterfalls” and earned the group two Grammys. While it made TLC the first girl group at the time to achieve diamond certification, the women faced severe financial hardship shortly after.

In 1995, TLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move shocked the music industry, given the group’s widespread fame and commercial success. According to AFROTECH™, the financial woes stemmed mainly from the group’s initial contract with LaFace Records and Pebbitone. That contract stipulated that TLC would earn about 7% of every album sold. That share was significantly diminished once expenses such as production, promotion, tour support, and prior advances were reimbursed to the label. As a result, after expenses, the group was reportedly earning as little as 20 cents per album, an amount they then split three ways.

During a 1996 Grammy press conference, Chilli famously declared, “We’re as broke as broke can be,” despite the group’s multi-platinum status. According to The Los Angeles Times, TLC ultimately received approximately 1% percent of the estimated $175 million in album sales at the time.

The bankruptcy proceedings led to a lawsuit, but in 1996, TLC settled with their management, record label, and production company. The agreement, according to The New York Times, allowed TLC to sign a direct recording deal with LaFace Records and officially severe its ties with Pebbitone.

Tragedy would strike the group again, but this time in the form of personal loss. Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes unexpectedly died in a car accident in Honduras in 2002 at the age of 30. In the wake of her passing, Watkins and Thomas reaffirmed their commitment to the group’s legacy, with Watkins doubling down in her more recent interview with DJ Envy.

“Whether she’s physically here or not, we will always be, and I will always have that name, TLC. ’Cause it belongs to us and we own it,” Watkins said.

Despite early financial struggles, TLC rebounded with the success of its album “FanMail” in 1999 and continued to build its brand. A separate AFROTECH™ report states that in more recent years, Watkins and Thomas have achieved a combined net worth of $9.5 million through music and business ventures outside the industry.