And on goes Kesha’s battle to separate from her contract with Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe label, which is owned by Sony. Today, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich denied her motion for preliminary injunction.
Justice Kornreich said, specifically, “You’re asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry,” and, because there is no evidence and Kesha is technically allowed to record without Dr. Luke, “I don’t understand why I have to take the extraordinary measure of granting an injunction.”
The case is more nuanced than this, as it seems Sony is refusing to promote Kesha’s work because of the fact that she’s alleged that Dr. Luke assaulted her sexually, among other horrible things. Dr. Luke makes the company millions and millions of dollars every year. Kesha’s argument is that, aside from the sexual assault and everything else, for a pop star every day, week, month, or year that goes by without new music is a missed opportunity, and could damage the chances of her ever having a lasting career in the industry. (She hasn’t released new music since 2014.)
Of course, fans (and anyone who has been paying attention) were not happy, picketing and singing outside of the court house.