As a long-time fan of Limp Bizkit and their raw, energetic sound that took over my teenage years back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions reading about this latest development. On one hand, it’s disheartening to see such a iconic band like Limp Bizkit embroiled in a legal battle with their record label over unpaid royalties. On the other, I find it somewhat amusing that even after all these years and with millions of streams on Spotify, Universal Music Group still seems to be struggling to get its act together when it comes to compensating artists fairly.
A dispute concerning royalties has arisen between Universal Music Group and Limp Bizkit, as they accuse each other of an issue in the former’s system used to calculate royalties. The band claims that they didn’t receive any royalties for their music until this year, when they discovered what they believe is a defect in the system that has been preventing payment.
As a gamer, I’d rephrase it like this: “In a legal battle unfolding in California, I, along with Limp Bizkit, are taking Universal Music Group to task for alleged fraud, contract breach, and negligence of duty. We claim they intentionally created a system that systematically kept artists from receiving their rightful royalties. We’re demanding the courts annul our contracts with them, plus potential damages totaling over $200 million.
In the past, Limp Bizkit saw its height of fame in the late ’90s and early ’00s. However, the band’s appeal has resurged significantly more recently. By 2024, they had garnered over 450 million streams on Spotify and were selling out arenas without releasing any new music.
After securing fresh management this year, lead vocalist Fred Durst reportedly questioned Universal Music about the lack of royalty payments he had received. According to the lawsuit, Universal had consistently informed him that he still needed to recoup advance payments. However, once Durst’s business managers gained access to the company’s royalty management portal, they allegedly found out that Durst was owed more than a million dollars.
According to the lawsuit, Limp Bizkit’s financial obligations were due as early as 2019, but were misleadingly reclassified as “unrecouped” to prevent payment, despite the band having sold millions of albums. Intriguingly, a royalty statement for one of their projects sent in Q2 of 2022 showed a positive balance, yet it was later labeled as “unrecouped,” reducing it by nearly $200,000 in the subsequent quarters. Durst claims these unjustified charges mysteriously appeared and overspent his account. His legal team has demanded immediate payment and the return of the master recordings.
The Universal executive explained that the failure to pay royalties was an isolated incident caused by a glitch in the company’s recently introduced software. Consequently, Limp Bizkit received approximately $1 million as back royalties, along with a $2.3 million payment to Flawless Records, which is owned by Durst, for a pre-existing agreement from 1999 known as a first look deal.
A representative from the music company admitted they had given the band around 43 million dollars in advance payments over time, which is why the royalties were only recently distributed. However, Limp Bizkit contests this amount, claiming that it’s inflated by almost 30 million dollars.
Despite Limp Bizkit and Flawless Records having distinct royalty accounts at Universal Music Group (UMG), they seem to have experienced a problematic, biased, and possibly fraudulent issue within UMG’s system. This issue appears to have resulted in artists being owed millions of dollars in unpaid royalties, yet they remain unaware of this debt,” the complaint alleges.
The band asserts that their contracts with Universal ended on September 30th, following accusations of fraud, although Universal chose not to respond. However, they allege that Universal is still profiting from their music.
Read More
Sorry. No data so far.
2024-10-08 23:55