The lawsuit claims that, despite the band’s growing resurgence in popularity, UMG has not paid them what they are owed.
The nu-metal group Limp Bizkit filed a lawsuit against his label Universal Music Groupalleging that the company deliberately withheld at least $200 million in unpaid royalties.
The lawsuit, filed today in the Central District of Los Angeles, claims that despite the band’s growing resurgence in popularity, UMG has failed to pay them what they are owed. The group, led by Fred Durstalleges that the company, in fact, never intended to pay them and “designed and implemented software and royalty systems that were deliberately designed to hide artists’ royalties and keep those profits for themselves.”
Limp Bizkit, who reached the peak of their popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, claims that it is not the only group that has been defrauded of royalties and that possibly hundreds of other artists have also suffered a similar fate.
What does Limp Bizkit’s complaint against Universal Music Group say?
The complaint, according to the Variety portal, states that Durst obtained new legal representation in April 2024 and explained to them that He had never received money from Limp Bizkit’s exploitations. The lawsuit claims that UMG told Durst and his representatives that royalty payments were withheld because of approximately $43 million they spent on the band over the years and had not yet recovered.
Durst contacted the former owner of Flip Records, who had signed the band in 1996 prior to the Interscope deal in December 2000, who told him that Flip was receiving millions of dollars due to recent renewed interest in the band. Durst, meanwhile, had received nothing.
The band claims that over the past year their assets grew by 68 percent, while in previous years they had grown steadily between 30 and 40 percent. But Despite the surge in popularity, which they say came without releasing new music, the company has deliberately misled them.
Durst intends to void his contracts with UMG on behalf of Limp Bizkit and his own label Flawless Records. The group has filed a lawsuit for breach of contract, fraudulent concealment, copyright infringement and other grounds.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
