Jill Scott’s former record label sued her.
It took 27 years for the Philadelphia-born neo-soul artist to release her debut album, “Who Is Jill Scott?” Her most recent album, “To Whom It May Concern,” took 10 years to make. In an interview with journalist Scott Evans on his podcast, “House Guest,” she notes that album production has gotten faster, while the intentionality of her projects hasn’t wavered.
Challenges Of Going Independent
Scott is an independent artist. She left her label years ago and describes the experience as a “fight” tied to a lawsuit. Complex reports that Scott is referring to her time signed to Hidden Beach Recordings, which sued her in 2010 for not completing her contractual obligations. She told the podcast she was not getting the support she needed by the label to get her music heard.
“It was a smear campaign for that one too. I needed to walk away … There’s nobody around me that is winning or where you know I feel like they should be. I don’t like that you don’t have the relationship I thought you had within this industry. So everything is based on me,” she recalled on “House Guest.” “If I want to get a radio play, I have to go to the man’s house and sing “Happy Birthday” to the godsister on Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. ’cause that’s when she wakes up and walks her dog. I got to be standing. I’m like, ‘This is crazy. Do you have any pull? The music is good. Is there any way that you could support that?’”
She added, “I left and got sued for $19 million. They didn’t get $19 million. Who had $19 million? I was like, you made $19 million off of me.”
Blues Babe Records
Scott countersued the label, and the case settled in February 2011, according to Complex.
Scott has her own label called Blues Babe Records. “To Whom This May Concern” marks Scott’s sixth studio album.