Adam Lambert Legal Settlement Allows Pre-'American Idol' Album to Come Out (Exclusive)

RCA Records

Adam Lambert has officially put an end to a dispute with Colwel Platinum Entertainment over a deal the singer made before he starred on the eighth season of American Idol. The two sides have come to terms with each other to dismiss a lawsuit and allow for the further distribution of Beg for Mercy, featuring Lambert's pre-Idol work.

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We broke news about this dispute in November. Colwel accused Lambert of interfering with the release of Beg for Mercy, an album that was put up on Amazon. According to the original lawsuit, Colwel maintained that it owns a 50 percent publishing share of the recordings and that it has, pursuant to a contract with Lambert, an unconditional right to promote and sell the recordings.

Colwel filed its lawsuit to get a declaration of its rights. The company also sued Lambert for allegedly making a false claim under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by sending a takedown notice to Amazon.

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Now, Colwel has dismissed its lawsuit with prejudice, and in return, is getting Lambert's assurance that the singer won't stand in the way of allowing Beg for Mercy into the marketplace.

The parties also wish to make clear that Lambert's eligibility for American Idol was never a contention in dispute. Although the show's rules prohibit singers with existing music recording contracts from participating as contestants -- something that was indeed mentioned in Colwel's original complaint in this case -- the record company says it never directly challenged whether Lambert should have been allowed to appear on the popular Fox reality show.

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Colwel have given THR this statement:

 “The Colwel Platinum Entertainment lawsuit against Adam Lambert has been resolved. Adam has withdrawn any objections to the release of ‘BEG FOR MERCY’ and he has approved the use of his songs and performances in these pre-Idol recordings which are interpretations of his artistic vision at the time. Neither Colwel Platinum Entertainment, Inc. nor Malcolm Welsford ever stated that Adam was not eligible to participate in American Idol when he did so and regret that the lawsuit’s allegations were misinterpreted.”

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