John Summit’s Off The Grid label to rebrand following legal dispute

John Summit has issued an apology off the back of a public trademark dispute surrounding his Off The Grid record label and an events brand that shares the same name. 

In a statement issued on social media on Tuesday (25th July), the Chicago-born DJ apologised for “all the drama” that occurred after he took to Twitter last week to slam the California-based Off the Grid event and festival brand and its founder Mikey Made Cromie, claiming that they had “sued” him and were demanding “7+ figures” for trademark infringement. Summit has now confirmed that the rival Off The Grid has "agreed to stop pursuing legal action & my team and i are working on a rebrand".

In a since-deleted tweet last week, Summit wrote: “Getting sued for trademark over my 'off the grid' label name by a small promoter even tho it’s a common phrase and I built up this brand 100% myself. Fucking sucks when ppl want to screw u over but it’s looking like I’m gonna need to rebrand guys.”

Cromey, who has been using the Off The Grid name since 2015, refuted those claims, stating that “there never was a lawsuit or demand for seven figures”. He also shared a statement on Facebook, explaining the situation: “At this time his management contacted me. They first asked if we could co-exist. I said no, the damage was already done and I just wanted them to stop using the name. They then asked if I would sell. I said that I had put way too much into it and would only sell if it was life changing money. They said they weren’t willing to spend that type of money and that was that.”

In his statement shared on Tuesday, Summit apologised for acting "out of emotion" and for taking the situation to social media, igniting a torrent of responses from his fanbase toward Cromey and the OTG campout brand. He wrote: "i acted out of emotion and truly apologize for all the drama i stirred up in taking it to social media. i’ve been talking w the OTG campout team and apologized to them directly but i also wanted to do so publicly. they’ve agreed to stop pursuing legal action & my team and i are working on a rebrand. in the meantime, to all my fans, please stop sending negative messages to OTG campout. i was wrong in condoning that behavior in any way."

He added: "All we want now is for both our communities to come together and be able to dance as one. i def learned my lesson from this and from here on out, i’m going to focus my attention in a positive light so we can get back to releasing music and throwing fun parties. thanks for taking the time to read this i appreciate & love u all."

Summit launched his Off The Grid imprint in March 2022, with the label going on to release music from artists including Mau P, Danny Avila, Kyle Walker, and himself, along with organising events. While the team work behind-the-scenes on the rebrand, the label will continue to operate as usual, as shown by the release of a new single from Danny Avila on Friday.

This year's edition of Off The Grid Campout will take place at Sirius Ranch in Apple Valley, California.

Revisit DJ Mag North America's cover interview with John Summit here.