Elliot Grainge’s 10K Projects Hit With $4M Lawsuit Over ‘Pattern of Misconduct’ in Joint Venture

10K Projects, the Warner-owned label founded by Elliot Grainge, has been sued for allegedly hoarding millions of dollars owed to Taz Taylor’s Internet Money Records under a joint venture.

Internet Money’s lawsuit stems from its 2019 partnership deal with 10K, which was at that point a fast-growing indie hip-hop label started by Grainge three years earlier. The 31-year-old son of Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, Elliot is now a powerful music executive in his own right as CEO of Atlantic Records.

The 2019 joint venture made Grainge’s 10K the exclusive label home for talent developed by Taylor (Danny Snodgrass Jr.) through his Internet Money producer collective, including Nick Mira, JRHITMAKER and KC Supreme. The two companies were supposed to split net profits 50/50, according to the lawsuit.

“Unfortunately, the defendants, in violation of their obligations to plaintiffs, have acted in such a manner that they are the only entities who have benefited from this relationship,” reads the complaint, filed Tuesday (Nov. 4) in Los Angeles federal court.

Internet Money claims 10K has “engaged in a pattern of misconduct, indeed breaching every promise and obligation that was owed to the plaintiffs.” The crux of this alleged misconduct is a series of maneuvers by 10K that allegedly deflated Internet Money’s share of the net profits by at least $4 million.

The lawsuit says 10K has hoarded these profits by improperly cross-collateralizing accounts and overcharging Internet Money for jacked-up expenses, which are categorized as deductions under the joint venture agreement.

Additionally, 10K is accused in the complaint of diluting Internet Money’s cut from the collective’s hit Gunna collaboration “Lemonade,” which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020. Internet Money also claims 10K has failed to share money made from the singer iann dior and withheld publishing royalties linked to various artists.

“As a direct and proximate result of the breaches, Internet Money Records has been denied millions of dollars in net profits to which it is entitled and continues to suffer ongoing damages due to 10K’s intentional misreporting and bad-faith conduct,” writes Internet Money’s lawyer, Sarah Matz.

The lawsuit brings a slew of civil claims, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent inducement. Internet Money is seeking monetary damages and a court order requiring Warner Music Group (WMG), which acquired a controlling stake in Grainge’s label in 2023, to provide it with 10K’s financial statements for an audit.

Reps for 10K did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday (Nov. 5). The label has been run under the Atlantic Records umbrella since 2024, when Grainge was named CEO of the storied WMG operation.