John Handiboe, Hey John! What's Going On?
Teen heart throb Aaron Carter filed a lawsuit in Orlando against pop music mogul Lou Pearlman and TransContinental Records. The suit asked the court to terminate a recording agreement with TransContinental Records.
According to Carter's attorney, Clay Townsend, the contract was signed when Carter was a minor and also seeks an accounting of record royalties.
A bankruptcy judge ordered that Carter's management and recording contracts are terminated and no longer in effect. The order was signed in Orlando October 24.
Now, the question: Who owns Aaron Carter's master recordings? That question really translates into Who will now make money off of Aaron Carter's master recordings?
Those questions were not immediately answered and Carter's attorney will continue to pursue a ruling in Carter's favor. That hearing will be held November 13 to determine who owns the copyrighted material and other interests.
"The song list is very popular. It is questionable as to the value. It may not be millions of dollars but it is personal to Aaron," said Townsend.
Townsend wants the ownership rights of the entertainment titles given solely to Carter. If the judge does not grant that request the master recordings could be sold by a trustee who is handling Pearlman's bankruptcy.
"God knows who would own them then and Carter will never see the royalties he's owed," added Townsend.
Townsend believes they have a good shot at being awarded ownership pointing out that the courts have been very cooperative in the past.
Carter first signed with Pearlman in 1997 and this is the second time Carter has taken Pearlman to court over record agreements.
In June of 2002 Carter filed suit in Hillsborough County claiming Pearlman did not fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from Carter's self-titled debut album. That lawsuit was eventually settled out of court.
Carter entered into new agreements with Pearlman in 2004. "He was 16 at the time, signed the contracts and did not have a lawyer present," explained Townsend. "Pearlman convinced Aaron that he could do better this time around."
Well, the second time around does not appear to have gone much better and the court battle continues.
Carter, 19, a platinum-selling recording artist, formerly with Jive Records, has recorded DVDs, has appeared in feature films like “Fat Albert,” “Popstar,” and “Supercross.” Carter also wrote and released the single “Saturday Night” last year.
Aaron is also the brother of Nick Carter of the "Backstreet Boys." Their mother, Jane, went public with allegations of sexual misconduct between Pearlman and former boy band members. However, no formal complaints or charges have been filed against Pearlman.
Pearlman is accused of scheming investors of millions of dollars. He is currently in the Orange County Jail on charges of bank and investment fraud. His TransContinental Companies are in bankruptcy.