Soulja Boy is suing his former manager Philip Ransom on claims that he was tricked into signing one contract that would guarantee Ransom 5% of all earnings forever … and another that would give at least 50% of all of Soulja’s music copyrights to his record label.
According to TMZ:
Soulja Boy was nothing more than an ignorant 16-year-old when he skyrocketed to fame in 2007 — and now, the rapper’s suing his ex-manager … claiming the guy took advantage of his naive teenage brain.
Soulja filed the documents in Georgia Superior Court, claiming his manager/lawyer Philip Ransom coerced him into signing multiple contracts when he was just starting out — contracts that were “unconscionable, oppressive, and unjust.”
According to the docs, the contracts included a management agreement that gave Ransom 5% of Soulja’s income … forever … relating to work the rapper completed while Ransom was his manager.
Another contract allegedly gave 50% of all Soulja’s music copyrights to his record label — a deal the rapper now claims is “commercially unreasonable” and “contrary to music industry custom and practice.”
But in reality, Soulja’s just bitching because he didn’t read the fine print — the contracts Soulja signed ARE industry standard … some recording contracts even take 100% of the copyrights.
Ransom denies the allegations — filing new legal docs claiming Soulja’s full of crap … and still owes him money from their time together.
Let this be a lesson to all of you young, naive aspiring entertainers out there. When someone comes along to offer to “manage” your career … make sure you read the fine print! (Or at least get someone else you trust to do it for you.)