R&B singer Trey Songz is suing a Houston promoter for allegedly breaching a contract by not making the second payment on the singer’s appearance fee for a Fort Worth concert and then cancelling the event because he realized he had not properly promoted and marketed the show.
The artist’s real name is Tremaine Aldon Neverson. The 41-year-old “Can’t Help But Wait” singer seeks more than $500,000 in damages in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against Darryl Austin, who could not be immediately reached for comment.
According to the suit filed Thursday, Neverson and Austin finalized a contract on April 16 in which the singer agreed to perform at Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth on Aug. 8. Austin said he would pay a flat fee with one quarter of the amount due on April 17 and another quarter on July 8, according to the suit.
The remainder was due before the performance date and the overall fee was not contingent on how many tickets were sold, the suit states.
Austin made the first payment on time, but did not turn over the second amount due and asked that the concert be postponed, the suit alleges. Neverson believes Austin wanted to delay the event because he had failed to adequately promote and market the function, according to the suit.
Neverson’s team had offered provide assistance in the promotion and the singer declined to postpone the concert while demanding Austin make the second payment, the suit states.
Nonetheless, Austin postponed the concert to a date to be determined and Ticketmaster informed fans who tried to buy tickets that the event was delayed, but were not told it was the promoter and not the artist who caused the delay, according to the suit.
Neverson has lost revenue from premium meet-and-greet ticket sales and has suffered damage to his professional goodwill and future earning capacity, the suit alleges.