Whether it was bad romance or bad paperwork,Lady Gaga has filed a counter lawsuit against Jersey producer Rob Fusari.
The Grammy-winning pop star's attorney claims that Fusari lured her into signing a misleading contract entitling him to "unlawful compensation." He is accused of acting as her talent agent without a license to represent musicians in that capacity.
Fusari filed the opening salvo in the dispute Wednesday, when he initiated a lawsuit in Supreme Court in New York, alleging the vocalist owed him more than $30 million in lost revenue.
The 42-year-old Livingston native, who helped pen and produce such hits as "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child and "Wild Wild West" by Will Smith, was singing a different tune during a taped interview with The Star-Ledger in January. At that time, he declared that he only wanted a verbal "thank you" from the diva: "There's different ways to thank people. It doesn't have to be in the media. It doesn't have to be on record. I don't think she has to take out a billboard... 'Thank you' would have been fine."
In an e-mail yesterday afternoon, Fusari said he could not comment on any of the legal matters.
Back in January, Fusari described his history with Gaga. He discovered her as a singer-songwriter on the New York open mike scene in 2006. Recognizing her talent, he quickly drafted a contract so he could connect her with his music business contacts and seek a major label deal. "I totally saw superstar potential," Fusari said.
He continued, "I just didn't know in what form or what genre it was going to come. I said to her, 'I don't think we should do any recording right now because I'm not positive I'm the guy that should be producing you.' I'm more of a dance, urban pop producer, but I saw this girl and I saw some of the Fiona Apple influence and I don't really produce rock records."
He said that he envisioned a limited role for himself. "I wanted to start signing acts and getting them started, not actually being the producer and not writing songs with them. I wanted to be the filter guy getting them from point A to point B."
Four months later, according to Fusari, he decided to restructure the contract. He and Gaga began building a catalog of tunes, including her signature "Paparazzi," along with dozens of unreleased songs, in his old Parsippany studio. The new document reflected his involvement on the creative side, as well as the business side, entitling him to a greater share of royalties.
He described the new arrangement, "Now, I'm the one developing this artist. Her and her dad agreed to change the deal."
Fusari accompanied Gaga to meetings with music executives, during which she'd sing and play piano for them. She was signed and dropped by Island Def Jam. Later, she found a home at Streamline Records, an affiliate of Interscope.
In his suit, Fusari offered a detailed account of a musical collaboration-turned-personal relationship.
During the conversations with the Ledger, he stated that he felt like a proud parent, watching a college rocker named Stefani Germanotta transform into an edgy dance artist. In terms of gratitude for his musical guidance, all he wanted was verbal acknowledgment, not millions of dollars.
Fusari said he grew estranged from Gaga when she began mixing burlesque into her performances. As clothes came off, sex eclipsed the music in his view.
"She turned into this striptease act," Fusari, who now works at a studio in the Ironbound section of Newark. "I didn't even want them using my music for that. I felt like I had worked at finding a sound for this artist and I was proud of it, and she was undermining it with the outfits, with the comedy..."
Fusari said that once Gaga hit a certain level of notoriety, he was no longer treated like a mentor.
"It's a different dynamic," said the producer, whose latest protégé is a 14-year-old male guitarist from Oregon. "I can't speak my mind now to her. I can't tell her what I think is missing or what I think she could improve on. I want to be truthful, but now I can only say good stuff and that's not a friendship."
Source |
Image
