British-Australian pop singer Alexandra Hainsworth is dragging a New Zealand record label to court, saying she never saw a dime in royalties for the music she released. And she’s not stopping there — a major global distributor is in the crosshairs too.
According to Stuff, Hainsworth is suing New Zealand record label Do It Management Ltd and international music distributor The Orchard. The Orchard is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and distributes music for global stars, including Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.
Hainsworth, through her company Inspire Create Pty Ltd, says both her copyright and her contract got thrown out the window. She alleges that her former record label and distributor never held up their end of the deal.
Notably, Hainsworth’s top song “Fighter” has earned more than 1.4 million streams on Spotify. She also claims that her music catalog was removed from the platform without her permission after the legal dispute began.
In a statement, Hainsworth said, “As a peace-loving person and artist, I never thought I would one day need to sue Do It Management and The Orchard. The past year and a half has been mentally, emotionally, and financially grueling, but I will fight for my music.”
Documents filed in the Auckland High Court show that Hainsworth and Do It Management entered into a contract in March 2022. The agreement covered the promotion, publishing, and distribution of her music in New Zealand.
According to the statement of claim, Hainsworth was to receive 50% of the profit after expenses as royalties. She alleges that these payments were not properly made.
It is also stated that Do It Management used The Orchard to distribute some of her music. Things went sideways between them in December 2024, leading to the current dispute.
Hainsworth claims that Do It Management and its director Paul Marshall dropped the ball on tracking — and paying — what she was owed. However, it is understood that Marshall’s label disputes these allegations.
Attempts were made to contact Marshall via email and social media, but no response was received. Calls to Do It Management’s listed phone number did not connect, and according to Google, its office is permanently closed.
According to Marshall’s LinkedIn profile, his label has previously worked with several international artists, including Toto, Everclear, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Hainsworth’s Australia-based manager Victor Paul said the case has done real damage to her life and her career. He also noted that Hainsworth has released 27 tracks to date.
Meanwhile, The Orchard distributes music in Australia and New Zealand for Bad Bunny, who recently performed at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Questions were sent to Sony New Zealand regarding The Orchard’s involvement in the case, but no response was received before publication. Chris Hocquard of Dominion Law in Auckland, who is understood to be representing The Orchard, declined to comment, saying he was not interested in commenting.
Now it’s in the court’s hands.
So where do you stand on this whole mess? Do labels and distributors actually play fair with artists — or is the music industry just built to keep them in the dark? Drop your take below.
