R. Kelly says he’s still owed $100,000 for Macon concert

Grammy Award-winning singer R. Kelly is suing the company that manages the Macon Coliseum, claiming that the company breached its contract for a concert he performed there.

But the venue’s general manager said in a statement to The Telegraph that it has fulfilled its financial obligations. Documents show that the contract was with a promoter and not Kelly.

The R&B star’s lawsuit seeks $100,000 plus other damages from Spectra Venue Management and its parent company, Comcast Spectacor, related to the Feb. 12 concert. RSK Enterprises, R. Kelly’s management company, says Spectra failed to pay the musician the full amount owed for the performance that was part of his “The After Party Tour.”

Macon-Bibb County hired Philadelphia-based Spectra in 2016 to manage the Macon Coliseum and the City Auditorium.

The lawsuit said R. Kelly received a deposit before the concert, but a required second payment of $100,000 was never made. The concert was held on a Sunday, but because of Spectra’s reputation Kelly’s representatives agreed to let the company wire the $100,000 to him the next day, according to the federal lawsuit, filed April 19.

“(Spectra) never wired the balance to (Kelly’s) bank account for the services provided at the Kelly performance,” the lawsuit contends.

Documents provided to the Telegraph by Spectra through the state’s Open Records Act, however, do not show a contract directly with R. Kelly or RSK Enterprises. The concert instead was brought to Macon through a Chicago-based promotion company called Real Talent Media Group.

But in providing the documents, Spectra redacted numerous details in the contract and settlement agreement between it and Real Talent. The documents do not reveal the amount of money the concert generated in gross and net ticket sales, for example, or what commission the promoter had to pay to Spectra. Spectra also redacted expenses in at least 13 other categories, including those related to staffing, marketing and security.

Two days after the concert, a $95,333 wire transfer was sent to Real Talent’s president, Romel Murphy, according to a statement. Murphy did not respond to a message left by The Telegraph.

R. Kelly’s attorney, Travis Life, declined to comment on the litigation.

Spectra took several weeks to provide documents requested by the Telegraph. And the company did not provide a reason for withholding certain financial information.

Spectra should have provided a written response within three days after the newspaper’s request was made, and it should have released the financial details since it involves a public venue, David Hudson, attorney for The Telegraph and the Georgia Press Association, said in an email.

Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Al Tillman said that based on the information he’s read, he believes Spectra met its contractual obligations for the concert.

Tillman, who serves as chairman of the commission’s Facilities and Engineering Committee, said he would welcome the promoter back to Macon.

The concert led to other confusion as some local promoters were saying they were a part of the concert as well, although their names are not contained in documents, Tillman said.

One area that the commissioner said he wants to see for future events is that the quality of performances by artists in Macon mirror the ticket prices being charged.

“The thing I’m looking for from local and outside promoters: If they’re coming to our city and charging $100-plus for tickets, I think we all ought to ensure we’re getting a quality show that Atlanta would get, that Houston would get,” he said.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 4:58 PM with the headline "R. Kelly says he’s still owed $100,000 for Macon concert."