Cassetty, McCreery Settle Dispute

Todd Cassetty

Todd Cassetty, president and founder of Cassetty Entertainment, has won a lawsuit against Mercury Nashville artist Scotty McCreery following a jury verdict on Wednesday (June 18) in a legal dispute between the parties, according to The Tennessean. The jury determined McCreery owes his former manager $239,329.

Cassetty sued McCreery in 2013 for back payments that had accrued over five months. Cassetty claimed he was owed 15 percent of McCreery’s gross revenue. McCreery disagreed, and the situation went to trial this week. According to the suit, McCreery’s mother Judy McCreery, who is named as a defendant in the case, controls the singer’s affairs and makes the majority of business decisions.

Scotty McCreery

Following his American Idol win in 2011, McCreery was initially managed by 19 Entertainment. 19 Entertainment and McCreery parted ways, and Cassetty was hired as the singer’s manager in 2012. The parties never finalized a written agreement, and ended their business relationship in April 2013. The lawsuit claims McCreery had not compensated Cassetty at the time the business relationship ended. The suit further claims that although McCreery originally promised to pay Cassetty 15 percent, McCreery later offered to pay Cassetty only two percent when the relationship ended.

McCreery has released the following statement today (June 19): “I am very pleased with the management fee ruling of only $239,000, which was less than half of the $570,000 Mr. Cassetty requested. It was always my intention to pay Mr. Cassetty and indeed had offered to pay him more than once. His request, however, for over half a million dollars was too much for a few months of work.

“While it has been difficult to risk having my reputation challenged, I always believed that the truth would prevail, and it has,” McCreery continued. “I have a management team, including a professional business manager, in Nashville advising me. Now I am happy to put this behind me and focus on my music. As always, I am thankful to my fans for all of their support.”

Cassetty’s established digital marketing company Hi-Fi Fusion has numerous superstar and major label clients.

McCreery is currently managed by Lytle Management Group.