Back in 2020, Lady Antebellum changed its name to Lady A due to its racial overtones. In doing so, the band didn’t realize there was already a blues musician named Lady A (Anita White) performing with that name. A back-and-forth ensued before the case eventually ended up in court.
Now, that case is settled.
In paperwork viewed by SPIN, Lady A the and Lady A the singer filed a joint request in U.S. District Court in Tennessee for the case to be dismissed. The terms of the settlement between the band and singer were not disclosed.
In July 2020, Lady A the band sued White after claiming that she asked for $10 million to give up her performing name. White countersued the band in September of that year for trademark infringement.
At the time of the band’s suit, the Seattle-based singer told Vulture that “You don’t get to just come and take because you have that privilege,” she said. “We don’t have that luxury or that privilege, so we need somebody to help us and lift us up.”
In the same interview, she said that “The first contract they sent [on June 30] had no substance,” she said. “It said that we would coexist and that they would use their best efforts to assist me on social-media platforms, Amazon, iTunes, all that. But what does that mean? I had suggested on the Zoom call that they go by the Band Lady A, or Lady A the Band, and I could be Lady A the Artist, but they didn’t want to do that.”
Prior to the suit, White said that she couldn’t put her new music on streaming services due to the name discrepancy.
SPIN has reached out to the band’s rep for comment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
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