Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit performs at Gunnersbury Park on August 13, 2023 in London, England. Jim Dyson/Getty Images
Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst has sued Universal Music Group, accusing the world’s largest record company of withholding millions of dollars in royalties owed to the band.
In the suit, filed in federal court on Tuesday and obtained by Rolling Stone, Durst and his attorneys claim that UMG “designed and implemented royalty software and systems that were deliberately designed to conceal artists’ royalties and keep those profits for itself.” They also claim UMG “never had any intention of paying” the band. Durst alleges that UMG owes Limp Bizkit as much as $200 million, and the suit demands that Durst and the band receive sole ownership of the copyrights to their music.
“UMG’s creation of such a system, while holding itself out as a company that prides itself on investing in and protecting its artists, makes Plaintiffs’ discovery of UMG’s scheme all the more appalling and unsettling,” the suit said.
In the suit, Durst claims that despite Limp Bizkit selling over 45 millions records and enjoying a recent resurgence — 450 million streams in 2024 alone — he’d never received a dollar in royalties from the record label. Earlier this year, after UMG had reached out to Durst about anniversary re-releases on some of his music, Durst and his team had begun to dig further into the band’s royalty history.
Durst and his managers discovered two accounts totaling about $1 million payable to the band that UMG had never informed them about, according to the suit. They also allege that while the accounts were payable beginning in 2019, UMG had fraudulently reclassified them as unrecouped so the company could avoid paying them.
After viewing those accounts, Durst’s team had grown more suspicious, finding that UMG had allegedly failed to provide Limp Bizkit with accounting on royalties and unrecouped costs related to several of the band’s albums and music videos from decades ago at the height of the band’s fame. Durst’s Flawless Records, which had signed artists like Puddle of Mudd and She Wants Revenge, had also never seen any of the profit share from UMG over those releases either, the suit alleged. (A rep for UMG did not reply to a request for comment.)
The suit further alleges that in multiple cases, UMG had overdrafted some of Limp Bizkit’s accounts so they would go from in the black to unrecouped. For example, Durst cites an account for a music video from Limp Bizkit’s fourth LP that showed a six-figure payable balance by the second quarter of 2022. But two quarters later, that same account said it was now six figures in the hole.
“Where did this additional $199,676.00 charged to the account come from?,” the suit said. “It seems to have come out of thin air to overdraft Limp Bizkit’s due and payable account in order to defraud Limp Bizkit and show an unrecouped account.”
By July, Durst’s lawyers sent UMG a letter claiming the label had “grossly underpaid” the band and hadn’t given them any accurate statements about their royalties, asking for payment from their accounts and for the return of their master recordings. Per the suit, A UMG executive spoke with the attorneys over the phone, chalking up the payment issue to a technical issue with UMG’s new software.
Later that month, another UMG executive had responded to the letter and informed the band that UMG had given the band a hefty $43 million in advances since they signed, resulting in a lengthier wait before they could finally recoup and start seeing royalties. In the limited amount of royalty statements they have access to, Durst’s team said they could only find recoupable charges totaling to about $13.1 million. His team called their own list of documents “incomplete” but added that UMG had “failed to substantiate” the $43 million charge.
By August, UMG had paid Limp Bizkit and Flawless Records $1,038,321.87 and $2,348,060 respectively, the first time they’d ever gotten payments according to the suit. Durst alleges that UMG still hasn’t provided the missing royalty statements they’d asked for.
By the end of September, Durst and his team filed to terminate the contract, claiming in the suit that the band is owed more than $200 million. UMG hasn’t accepted, the suit said, leaving Durst, the band and Flawless with “no choice” other than the suit.
The causes of action listed against UMG in the complaint include fraud, negligent misrepresentation and copyright infringement among other claims.
From Rolling Stone US.
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