George Michael called his Sony contract 'professional slavery' — and lost in court (1994)

What happened

At the height of his fame, George Michael went to court to get out of his long-term recording contract with Sony, arguing that the imbalance of power and his lack of control over his own career amounted to "professional slavery." He claimed, among other things, that Sony under-promoted his album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 and that the contract barred him from moving to another label or controlling his own image.

The ruling

On June 1, 1994, Justice Jonathan Parker of the High Court in London rejected Michael's claims in full. The court held the contracts were reasonable and enforceable — noting Michael had access to expert legal advice, had renegotiated the deal several times, and was on terms comparable to industry standards for an artist of his success. In short: a deal's a deal.

The twist

Michael lost the legal argument but still got out — not on his own terms. In July 1995, Sony sold his contract to Virgin Records and DreamWorks, who released his subsequent work co-labeled with Michael's own Aegean Records. An artist could be told by a court that his contract was fair and binding, and then watch the label trade that same contract away like an asset.

Why it's on file

The case is a landmark precedent that courts will generally enforce a recording contract even when the artist says the terms are oppressive — provided the artist had advice and the terms were standard. It set the backdrop for later contract-bind fights, from Prince to Kesha.