Limp Bizkit sue Common Music for $200million over unpaid royalties

Limp Bizkit and frontman Fred Durst have filed a lawsuit in opposition to Common Music for $200million (£152.7m), alleging that the band “by no means acquired any royalties” till just lately.

In line with Billboard, the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles federal court docket yesterday (Tuesday October 8).

In it, attorneys for Durst and the rap-rock group claimed that Limp Bizkit and “presumably a whole lot of different artists” have “unfairly had their royalties wrongfully withheld for years” underneath a “fraudulent” system created by Common Music.

They alleged that this coverage was “intentionally designed” by UMG to cover royalties from acts in order that the corporate may “maintain these earnings for itself”.

The Limp Bizkit vocalist claimed that the group had “by no means acquired any royalties from UMG”, till this August – regardless of having bought hundreds of thousands of albums and nonetheless incomes “hundreds of thousands of streaming customers per thirty days on Spotify alone”.

“Regardless of this large ‘come again,’ the band had nonetheless not been paid a single cent by UMG in any royalties till taking motion in opposition to UMG, main one to ask how on earth that would presumably be true,” Durst’s legal professionals wrote.

As for the alleged fraudulent coverage, they mentioned: “UMG’s creation of such a system, whereas holding itself out as an organization that prides itself on investing in and defending its artists, makes plaintiffs’ discovery of UMG’s scheme all of the extra appalling and unsettling.

“Durst defined that he had been knowledgeable by UMG that he had not acquired any royalty statements as a result of UMG instructed him through the years that it was not required to supply them since his account was nonetheless so removed from recoupment. Durst’s representatives, suspicious that UMG was wrongfully claiming Plaintiffs’ accounts had been unrecouped, steered investigating additional.”

Durst’s legal professionals questioned “UMG’s accounting and cost practices”, and claimed to have found that Limp Bizkit’s accounts held greater than $1million (£765,500). Nevertheless, they alleged that the label “did not alert” the band concerning the funds.

The go well with added: “UMG’s failure to subject royalty statements specifically from 1997-2004 – the peak of the band’s fame and during times by which they made record-breaking gross sales – with respect to its hottest albums means that UMG was deliberately concealing the true quantity of gross sales, and subsequently royalties, due and owing to Limp Bizkit with a view to unfairly maintain these earnings for itself.”

Durst’s authorized representatives known as the suggestion that Limp Bizkit’s studio albums had been nonetheless unrecouped “extremely suspect”, pointing to the group’s large business success throughout their early profession.

“Provided that Limp Bizkit’s first three albums had already bought a number of million copies by the early ’00s, the recording funds and prices ought to have been shortly recouped, and UMG ought to have began paying royalties on these albums immediately – not over twenty years later,” the go well with learn.

Moreover, the lawsuit alleged that “fraudulent accounting practices” had been carried out by Common Music to maintain the band within the pink and keep away from paying royalties. They claimed {that a} sum of $199,676 had been charged to Limp Bizkit’s account.

“It appears to have come out of skinny air to overdraft Limp Bizkit’s due and payable account with a view to defraud Limp Bizkit and present an unrecouped account,” the legal professionals wrote.

UMG responded to this by claiming that Limp Bizkit had been paid $43million in recoupable advances through the years. The label defined that for this reason the royalties had not begun coming into the accounts till just lately.

In line with Durst’s attorneys, UMG finally launched $1.03million to the band, and $2.3million to Durst’s label Flawless Information. Nevertheless, they declare that they’re owed a a lot larger sum.

The lawsuit learn: Given the huge quantities of cash collected by UMG in relation to gross sales of Limp Bizkit’s and Flawless Information’ albums through the years … UMG is liable to plaintiffs for tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in copyright infringement, if no more.

“Certainly, Plaintiffs allege that the quantities owed to them by UMG following the rescission of those agreements will simply surpass $200million.”

Along with the allegedly unpaid royalties, the lawsuit is in search of to void Limp Bizkit’s contract with Common Music and provides the band again the copyrights to their recorded catalogue. The legal professionals are additionally in search of copyright infringement damages.

UMG has not but responded additional to the lawsuit.

Limp Bizkit wrapped up their 2024 North American ‘Loserville’ tour in August. Throughout a present in Ridgefield, Washington that month, Durst and co. carried out their observe ‘Clunk’ dwell for the primary time in 14 years.