Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lawsuit Filed Against Larry Blackmon by Former Cameo Members is ‘Frivolous’ and ‘Inconsistent with Facts’ [EUR EXCLUSIVE]

*The business consultant to Cameo’s Larry Blackmon says the lawsuit filed against the singer by four former members “is inconsistent with facts.”

And the fact is…

“We’re going to get this thing sorted out. But nobody is going to bully us into it by filing a lawsuit. This is a frivolous claim,” Jay King tells EUR founder/publisher, Lee Bailey in an exclusive interview.

“Larry Blackmon manages himself,” King says. “I’m really a consultant and manager to Larry in his entity as Cameo. Larry is smart enough to know that as frontman to a band, he can’t be all things to all people all the time. So Larry and I are connected in a lot of different ways. We have a natural inclination to each other and were good friends.”

And as Blackmon’s “good friend,” he was compelled to respond a report we picked up from The Blast about former Cameo members alleging that Blackmon stole all of their royalties.

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CAMEO 2017

According to court documents, Nathan Leftenant, Arnett Leftenant, Jeryl Bright and Gregory Johnson have filed a complaint against Blackmon.

Here’s more via The Blast:

The four former members claim that in 2010, Blackmon began collecting royalties on behalf of the band, saying he would pay the other members their share. They claim Blackmon took in $103,005.30 and never paid them a dime.

“So the royalties that they’re speaking about are royalties from SoundExchange. SoundExchange is part of the Digital Act that started in 1995, where artists would receive money from digital play,” King explains. “SoundExchange is the equivalent of a performing rights organization. It’s a new revenue stream. So there were more than 100 claims for Cameo. In other words, there were more than 100 people that said they were in Cameo. And there were some guys who were in Cameo that was collecting SoundExchange money five years before Larry Blackmon collected it”

Once Blackman found out about SoundExchange, King says “he shut it down and he started collecting SoundExchange by himself and then more claims came in and that’s when the whole thing got shut down. So nobody’s collecting money.”

Continuing, he added: “Larry doesn’t owe anybody anything because we don’t know who owes what. They haven’t been able to collect SoundExchange money like Larry Blackmon hasn’t been able to collect SoundExchange money because Larry Blackmon said nobody collects this money until this is sorted out. So to file a lawsuit or to make it seem like Larry Blackmon is taking anything from anybody is inconsistent with facts.”

On the plaintiffs claim that ‘Blackmon began a Las Vegas residency in 2015 performing Cameo’s music without their permission,” King says…

“The fact of the matter is, we’re going to answer the lawsuit. We’re going to get this thing sorted out. But nobody is going to bully us into it by filing a lawsuit. But you can’t make frivolous claims. This is a frivolous claim. Larry Blackmon owns the Cameo trademark 100%, and they know it. That’s why they can’t play as Cameo. And when we find out that they are playing as Cameo, we shut them down because they don’t have the right to use Larry’s likeness. Larry Blackmon is Cameo. If Larry Blackmon ain’t on the stage then you’re not seeing Cameo and that’s how the public feels.

jay king (at mic)
Jay King, the founder of 80s group Club Nuveau, also serves as business consultant to Larry Blackmon

Isn’t this similar to The Temptations situation not that long ago between Dennis Edwards and Ollie Woodson? They were performing and they found a way to use The Temptations name.

Well, they can say The Temptation Review the same way those guys can say The Cameo Family. They can’t use pictures of the old Temptations as a promotional tool and they can’t use Temptations recordings where they’re voices aren’t in them.

You can’t use pictures of Cameo with Larry Blackmon on them. And you can’t play songs on the radio with Larry Blackmon’s voice saying that Cameo is going to be here because it’s a lie. Larry Blackmon is Cameo.

The difference between a group like The Temptations versus a group like Cameo is Larry Blackmon is the central figure to Cameo. The Temptations had numerous central figures over the iteration of the group and that’s why Dennis Edwards could have his version of The Temptations Revue. It’s why Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin could have their iteration of The Temptations, and it’s why The Temptations could be who they were because they had an Ollie Woodson. They each housed some iteration that had a principal person in the group. Larry Blackmon is synonymous with Cameo.

According to The Blast report: ‘The four former members claim that in 2010, Blackmon began collecting royalties on behalf of the band, saying he would pay the other members their share. They claim Blackmon took in $103,005.30 and never paid them a dime.’

But Mr. King wants “to set the record straight.”

“If these guys really wanted to get something done they’d probably call me because I don’t have an emotion involved in this game. I’m more pragmatic and methodical and critical on how I deal with this type of stuff. And that’s why Larry brought me in,” he tells us.

So you’re saying if they called you, the ex Cameo members, you would work with them?

No, what I’m saying is that, as it relates to this issue, I would get it resolved. It’s an easier resolve than what they’re doing. If you’re smart, you wanna do something smart, which is, get it resolved. Nobody is going to win in a lawsuit. And nobody is going to push Larry Blackmon around. So you gotta figure out what kind of fight you want to have. If you want to get it done and get it fixed so you can start getting your money, or if you’re just posturing. If they really want to get their money they’re doing it the wrong way. This is going to cost them money.

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