LOS ANGELES (CN) - Music website Hitlab owes $1.7 million for breaching a Grammy sponsorship agreement, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences claims in court.
Hitlab, of Montreal, entered into a license agreement as a presenting sponsor for Grammy events in 2012, according to the academy's federal lawsuit.
Hitlab agreed to amend the agreement in February 2013, the academy says, and pay it $1.175 million, split into two installments, for each contract year.
The agreement gave Hitlab "the limited and nonexclusive right to display and reproduce the Grammy word mark for certain purposes and events," the complaint states.
Hitlab paid one installment of $647,940, but not the second installment of $500,000, the academy claims. Nor did it pay two installments of $587,500 each, due for the second contract year, ending Jan. 1, 2014, according to the complaint.
That comes to $1.674 million owed, the academy claims. It wants the money, and damages for breach of contract.
The 56th annual Grammy Awards was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, where French electro pop duo Daft Park walked away with record of the year for "Get Lucky" and album of the year for "Random Access Memories."
The recording academy is represented by Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks with Proskauer Rose.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.