Ryan Castro won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in an arbitration process against King Records, owned by fellow Colombian artist Kevin Roldán, for breach of contract.
According to a resolution by a Colombian judge, the arbitration tribunal ruled that King Records must pay Castro an amount exceeding $2 million. In addition to this, the ruling grants the Colombian artist 100% of the property rights over all his phonograms and audiovisuals (Masters).
Last year, the self-proclaimed Cantante del Ghetto initiated three lawsuits against Roldán’s independent label, with the help of his attorney and manager Leo Arango. The lawsuits, filed in Medellín, Colombia in April and May 2023, alleged breaches of management and record label agreements. Subsequently, a third lawsuit was filed, focusing on the breach of the publishing agreements.
King Records is ordered to notify aggregators, virtual playback channels, record labels, and publishers responsible for royalty collection of this change in ownership. With this decision, the Colombian performer has gained his artistic freedom.
Castro’s lawsuit victory comes on the heals of the release of his debut album El Cantante del Ghetto on May 10, an 18-track outing where traditional tropical music and contemporary pop-reggaetón collide, featuring artists such as Yandel, Arcángel, Blessd, Jowell & Randy and Akapellah.
“My career and my music are being respected as I dreamed it would be,” Castro told Billboard News earlier this month. “For me, it is a triumph to be able to say that I have a song with Arcángel and that it is the focus track of my album.”
