LIMP BIZKIT frontman Fred Durst has filed a lawsuit against the band’s record label, Universal Music Group, claiming he is owed millions of dollars in unpaid royalties, according to Billboard.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in California federal court, alleges that UMG is “intentionally designed,” “systematic,” and “fraudulent” to hide royalties from artists and “keep the profits for themselves.” ‘ policy. The lawsuit also seeks compensation for other artists who worked with UMG through Durst’s Flawless Records.
Durst has received royalties from Universal throughout his career, despite the fact that the band has sold more than 45 million records so far this year and its songs have been streamed more than 450 million times on Spotify. He claims that he has never done so.
Durst and his bandmates are seeking $20 million in damages. However, they claim that the total amount Universal owes them could “easily exceed” $200 million.
UMG told Mr. Durst’s representatives that Mr. Durst still needs to recoup about $43 million before he can receive royalties, according to the documents. As a result, Mr. Durst’s representatives were reportedly told that no royalties would accrue because UMG “doesn’t need to provide any royalties as his account is far from collection.” But Durst’s team said it discovered that the band’s original label, Flip Records, had made millions of dollars in profit sharing with Universal Music Group.
“Given the enormous amount of money that UMG has collected over the years in connection with the sale of LIMP BIZKIT and Flawless Records albums, UMG owes Plaintiff tens of millions of dollars, if not more, for copyright infringement. “There is,” the complaint states. “In fact, plaintiffs allege that the amount owed by UMG after termination of these agreements could easily exceed $200 million.”
UMG is accused of termination of contract, breach of record contract, fraudulent concealment, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation and copyright infringement.
