Teena Marie
In 1982, late soul legend Teena Marie made history when she petitioned to leave Motown records, claiming they weren’t fully supporting her. Motown refused to let her out of her contract and Marie then sued them to get off the label. Marie eventually won her case and allowed her exit from the label after it was discovered that Motown broke their contract by not paying her an artist’s annual living fee. The ruling led to the Teena Marie law, which prevents a record label from holding an artist without releasing any of their music.
