Erica Campbell’s record label, My Block Records, settled its royalty lawsuit against the distributor SRG on Oct. 2, 15 days after filing it in federal court in New York. The label withdrew the case before SRG had formally answered, and neither side has disclosed what SRG agreed to pay or provide.
My Block, founded by Campbell’s husband, producer Warryn Campbell, filed the case on Sept. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to Digital Music News. The docket number is 1:26-cv-08094. The same outlet reported that the case ended with a voluntary dismissal.
What My Block Records Alleged Against SRG
The complaint centered on accounting. My Block said SRG distributed three of its albums under an agreement that ran from 2021 to 2024 and never sent a single royalty statement. The releases were Erica Campbell’s 2023 album “I Love You,” Lena Byrd Miles’ 2022 album “Brand New” and The Walls Group’s 2023 album “Four Walls.”
According to Digital Music News’ report on the filing, the label said the three albums drew more than 113 million streams between 2022 and 2024 and generated more than $1 million in sales without a statement ever arriving. Campbell’s single “Feel Alright (Blessed)” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart, and she and Warryn Campbell both earned Grammy nominations for the album.
Accounts differ on what the $1 million figure measures. Digital Music News described the lawsuit as seeking damages of more than $1 million. Music Business Worldwide reported that the $1 million was the sales the three releases generated, and added that My Block also claimed SRG did not spend marketing money it had committed.
How the Settlement Ended the Case
The dismissal was filed without prejudice, Music Business Worldwide reported. Under federal practice, that leaves My Block free to file the same claims again. Because SRG had not yet responded in court, no judge ruled on any of the allegations.
SRG, a Connecticut-based distributor that works with Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music Group, issued a short statement. The company said it had “resolved the matter with My Block Inc.,” according to Music Business Worldwide. Before the settlement, SRG said it made repeated efforts to talk with My Block and its representatives about moving the masters to a new home and about accounting and payments, Digital Music News reported. Kenny Lattimore’s separate lawsuit against SRG
My Block was the second artist-side suit against SRG this year. R&B singer Kenny Lattimore sued SRG/ILS Group on Feb. 18, Digital Music News reported. Lattimore said his 2021 album “Here to Stay” produced the No. 1 R&B single “Take a Dose,” yet he received one royalty check, for $4,400 in 2023. He alleged he is owed at least $100,000 under a 50-50 split and that SRG blocked a 2024 audit by withholding documents. The filing also alleges that SRG executives pressured him to drop the audit and suggested he should expect a counterclaim. It names After 7 and J. Brown as other artists who had similar experiences with the distributor.
When My Block sued, Lattimore posted a response on Threads. “People lie, but patterns don’t,” he wrote, according to theJasmineBRAND. He added that other artists had told him of similar experiences but had not gone to court. That outlet reported that SRG denied the allegations in both cases. Digital Music News reported that Lattimore’s case is still open. The My Block settlement does not resolve it.
What the Numbers Show
The figures in the two complaints allow some arithmetic. Lattimore’s single $4,400 check is 4.4% of the $100,000 he says he was owed at minimum. If My Block’s $1 million is measured against its 113 million streams, the average is about 0.9 cents per stream across the three albums.
The timing is also a data point. Lattimore’s complaint has been public for more than seven months, from Feb. 18 to Oct. 6, and Digital Music News describes it as ongoing. My Block’s suit lasted 15 days. Both plaintiffs sued over the same basic problem, missing statements, but their cases ended up in different places. Lattimore asked a court for an accounting and damages for breach of contract and deceptive business practices. My Block reached a private resolution before SRG filed an answer.
The My Block dismissal leaves the public record thin. The dismissal shows that the parties ended the case themselves, and SRG’s one-line statement is the only comment either side has put on the record about the outcome. Whether the label received the statements it said it never got is not something the filing or the statement answers.
