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The band Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum), left, and singer Anita White, who also performs under the stage name Lady A.
The band Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum), left, and singer Anita White, who also performs under the stage name Lady A. Composite: Getty/courtesy of Lady A
The band Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum), left, and singer Anita White, who also performs under the stage name Lady A. Composite: Getty/courtesy of Lady A

Lady Antebellum sue black singer Lady A over name change

This article is more than 3 years old

Anita White asked for $10m to support herself and other black independent artists after the group adopted the name she has used for 20 years

The US country group Lady A – known until recently as Lady Antebellum, before changing their name to shed its slavery-era connotations – is suing the blues and gospel artist Lady A over use of the name.

When the trio first announced the name change in June out of respect for black Americans, it appeared that they were unaware that Anita White had been performing as Lady A for 20 years. “This is my life,” White said at the time.

Shortly after the announcement, two parties shared an image of a Zoom call and said they were “moving forward with positive solutions and common ground”. Those talks have broken down. In a statement, the members of the country group said that representatives for White “demanded a $10m [£7.79m] payment”.

The group is not seeking financial damages from White, nor that she change her stage name, but is instead suing her for recognition of a trademark it claims “we have held for many years” and to avoid further litigation.

“We are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended,” the group said in a statement. They added that with White they had “shared our stories, listened to each other, prayed and spent hours on the phone and text writing a song about this experience together”.

In an interview with Vulture published yesterday, White said she is seeking $10m (£7.8m) in order to use half to rebrand and market herself, with the other half to be donated to charities including those that support independent black artists.

She said she felt the band’s actions had branded her as an “angry black woman”. White explained: “I was quiet for two weeks because I was trying to believe that it was going to be okay and that they would realise that it would be easier to just change their name, or pay me for my name.

“$5m is nothing, and I’m actually worth more than that, regardless of what they think. But here we go again with another white person trying to take something from a black person, even though they say they’re trying to help. If you want to be an advocate or an ally, you help those who you’re oppressing. And that might require you to give up something because I am not going to be erased.”

She said the first contract the band sent regarding the shared use of the name “had no substance”. White 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.”

She said she had already felt the repercussions of the Grammy-winning country group adopting the name Lady A. “I attempted to upload my single [on independent distribution service DistroKid] and couldn’t verify my name, Lady A, for several days. It finally went through and now I’m just waiting until my July release to see if my single will be buried.”

Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood formed Lady Antebellum in 2006, and say that they faced no opposition, including from White, when they registered “Lady A” as a trademark in 2010.

The band Lady A concluded their statement with a commitment to “educating ourselves, our children and doing our part to fight for the racial justice so desperately needed in our country and around the world”.

The group are one of several music industry entities to have changed their name following the recent Black Lives Matter protests. Country group the Dixie Chicks announced that they would henceforth be known as the Chicks. British indie label One Little Indian changed its name to One Little Indie, and electronic label Whities is now AD 93.

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