Alexandra Hainsworth, a British-Australian pop singer who’s been unable to release her own music for a long time, has taken an Aotearoa New Zealand label to court.
Hainsworth claims that her copyright and contract were breached by Do It Management Ltd and The Orchard (the latter is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment), which led to her not receiving royalties for her music.
Hainsworth signed with Do It Records for promotion, publishing, and distribution in March 2022. According to her company’s statement of claim, Hainsworth was due to receive 50% of profit after all expenses.
Do It Management used The Orchard to distribute some of Hainsworth’s music, but “multiple issues” soon emerged, she tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
Things came to a head in late 2024 when she “needed to cancel” her contract due to a breach of contract. Hainsworth claims that Do It Management failed to properly track her royalties, even failing to pay her for them. (According to Stuff, Do It Management disputes this claim.)
Do It Management proved difficult to reach for both Hainsworth and her manager, Victor Paul. As a result, Hainsworth got a music lawyer to cancel the contract under New Zealand law.
“I did give the documents over to The Orchard, then there really wasn’t any cooperation from Do It Records to try and resolve it,” Hainsworth tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “And that’s why I actually had to go legal with it, because that was the last thing I ever wanted to [do].
