What happened between Young Thug and AEG? Rapper settles $5M lawsuit over touring deal after nearly five years

In 2020, AEG filed a lawsuit alleging that Young Thug failed to adhere to a touring contract established in 2017 by organizing performances independently. AEG alleged that Thug had received a $5 million advance from the contract, which went unpaid, and the company claimed rights to Thug's songs' copyright as collateral for the $5 million debt.

AEG argued that they had rights to promote Thug's live shows. AEG's lawyer, Kathleen Jorrie at the time said,

"Despite having granted AEG the exclusive right to promote Mr. Williams concert performances under the terms of the 2017 Artist Agreement, YSL and Mr. Williams immediately failed and refused to honot their respective obligations under the 2017 Artist Agreement by, among other things, diregarding AED's rights, performing concerts without AEG's involvemenet, and retaining all proceeds generated therefrom."

According to a new report from Billboard, a motion filed in federal court on February 14 revealed that both the parties have "entered into a settlement", closing the case. The details of the agreement were not revealed in court documents and the parties are yet to make a public statement on the settlement.

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More about Young Thug's AED case

As per a report from Billboard, both parties, including YSL, Thug and AED have settled the suit. This comes after the rapper was arrested in a RICO case, leading to a pause in proceedings in 2022. The rapper was released from jail in October, and AEG revisited the suit.

After the lawsuit was filed in 2020, Thug allegedly sold a significant portion of his catalog including more than 400 copyrighted songs in 2021 to an unnamed buyer and earned $16 million. In 2021, Kobalt Music revealed that they signed Young Thug to a global publishing deal despite AEG's claims that they had already secured rights to Thug's music.

Following his release from jail after a RICO case, the 33-year-old rapper is scheduled to play at the third day of Belgian music festival, Les Ardentes on July 5. On February 25, organizers of the concert posted a flyer on their Instagram page announcing his performance with the caption,

"History. Young Thug is back to headline Les Ardentes! 5th July at Les Ardentes. Tickets on sale this Wednesday!"

As per the festival's website, he last appeared at the festival in 2017. His label company, YSL, commented on the post saying, "Slatt (snake emoji) (lime-green heart emoji)

Thug also has an order to deliver four charity concerts per year as part of his plea deal.