Toni Braxton is one of the best-selling R&B singers of all-time, with countless hits including “Un-Break My Heart,” “Find Me A Man,” “Let It Flow,” “Long As I Live,” and “He Wasn’t Man Enough.” She’s won some of the most prestigious gongs in the music industry including seven Grammys and seven American Music Awards.
So how exactly does a woman who has sold over 70 million records worldwide find herself filing for bankruptcy not once but twice in a matter of years? Many people don’t seem to be aware that due to a terrible record deal, which practically saw her make next to nothing at the peak of her career, and serious health issues, Toni was losing more than she was earning.
Here’s a full breakdown of how a global superstar with two children can end up in bankruptcy on two occasions.
Toni Braxton Files For Bankruptcy
Fans couldn’t believe it when Toni filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in January 1998, particularly since it had been no more than two years since she had released her worldwide hit “Un-Break My Heart,” which not only sold over five million copies but also earned the vocalist a Grammy award.
Not to forget, Toni had also dropped her second studio album, Secrets, in 1996, which pushed over 6 million units in the United States and another 3 million worldwide.
When the mother-of-two filed for bankruptcy, it was claimed in court documents that her music had generated well over $170 million in sales from her first two studio albums. But by the look of things, the money she was earning her record label, Arista/LaFace, was clearly not going into her pocket.
A few weeks prior, the “Hurt You” singer-songwriter sued the company and asked to be released from her contract, while her lawyer later told LA Times that their client was making a shocking 33 cents for each album she sold, which meant she certainly wasn’t enjoying the fruits of her labor.
As time went on, more details came out about Toni’s shady record deal with Arista/LaFace. Despite being one of the biggest artists on its roster, executives at the firm refused to offer her a better deal — one that would see her receive an additional royalty bonus rate and advances.
Because the label was not willing to cooperate and ultimately left Toni with little to no money (since she also has to pay her team), she had no choice but to file for bankruptcy.
In an interview with Black Enterprise, Toni touched on the subject, saying, “After TLC talked publicly about their bankruptcy [the label prohibited] other LaFace artists to talk, but now I can. I sold more than 40 million records, yet my royalties were less than $2000 dollars.
“People don’t understand that this issue went all the way to Congress about bankruptcy. All contracts are null and void except for a recording artist. Can you believe it? But the industry has changed now.”
She also addressed claims that she had bad spending habits, which many believed was the real reason she found herself in a bad financial state. To that, she said, “People were reporting things like I bought Gucci flatware. Yes, I treated myself, and it was only $500. If I bought 1000 count sheets, they were from TJ Maxx for about $49, so I wasn’t living extravagantly.
“Yes, of course I spent money, but when you consider that an artist makes 4 to 7 cents on the dollar for every album sold and they have to pay back $20 million to the label for all the money that was spent to create, promote and sell that album, then, yeah, chances are you’ll end up in a whole lot of debt.”
Toni’s second bankruptcy came shortly after announcing her Las Vegas residency at the Flamingo Hotel, where she was set to perform six days a week. The show was so successful in its first year that it was extended through 2010, but after fainting during a live performance in April 2007, she was hospitalized and forced to cancel all remaining dates.
In 2010, Toni was bankrupt for a second time because she had self-financed her Vegas shows through her company Liberty Entertainment, but since health reasons prevented her from getting back on stage, all of the costs had to come out of her pocket.
She recalled in a 2012 interview with ABC News, “The Vegas show, I just renewed my contracts with all my vendors,” she explained. “And then a month later, I got sick. I couldn’t work and could not afford to pay them back.”
Toni released her tenth studio album Spell My Name in August 2020.