Limp Bizkit sues Universal Music Group for $200 million in unpaid royalties
After being the darlings of nu-metal in the late 1990s, Limp Bizkit have now sued Universal Music Group over $200million in alleged unpaid royalties.
The rap-rock band led by Fred Durst was known for having one of the greatest success stories of the nu-metal genre, sharing the stage with acts like Korn and landing major hits off singles such as ‘Break Stuff’ and ‘Nookie’.
While the band had since gone quiet following the release of albums like Results May Vary, their latest resurgence resulted in them filing a lawsuit with the company due to no compensation for their uptick in sales. This follows the release of their latest album in 2021, Still Sucks.
In a statement given by the band to Bloomberg, Limp Bizkit said that UMG deliberately tried to withhold funds from them, claiming the company “designed and implemented royalty software and systems that were deliberately designed to conceal artists’ royalties and keep those profits for itself.”
They also allege that the label held upwards of $200million in royalties and had no intention of paying the band in the future.
The first part of the investigation began when Durst allegedly discovered two accounts with $1million that UMG had never informed them of. After putting together pieces of material for an anniversary for one of their albums, Durst alleges that the label had been transferring the withheld money “to overdraft Limp Bizkit’s due and payable account in order to defraud Limp Bizkit and show an unrecouped account.”
However, Durst is not the only one allegedly suffering from the label’s failure to pay the artist. The same financial irregularities also came up when working with Durst’s label, Flawless Records. Other acts like She Wants Revenge and Puddle of Mudd also shared their alleged grievances regarding royalties that were never delivered to them.
In their defence, UMG representatives had said that the mishandled money was all a misunderstanding, initially saying that it was a software problem on their end. However, other executives have also said that the group had been given $43million in advances since they had been signed.
In addition to the label failing to provide any proof of the $43million, the band’s attorneys have also alleged that there have been no royalty statements provided to them since. Though Durst has since moved forward in trying to terminate both the band and Flawless Records contracts with the label, UMG has not made any comments on the situation.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.