Limp Bizkit is Suing Universal Music Group for a Staggering Amount of Unpaid Royalties

Fred Durst and the members of Limp Bizkit have filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group for alleged years of unpaid royalties. According to the lawsuit, the band has only recently received royalties for their music, per a report from Consequence. It is possible that other artists were treated this way as well. The suit is asking for $200 million in damages.

“Durst explained that he had been informed by UMG that he had not received any royalty statements because UMG told him over the years that it was not required to provide them since his account was still so far from recoupment,” the lawsuit states. “Durst’s representatives, suspicious that UMG was wrongfully claiming Plaintiffs’ accounts were unrecouped, suggested investigating further.”

The suit continues, “UMG’s failure to issue royalty statements in particular from 1997-2004 — the height of the band’s fame and during periods in which they made record-breaking sales — with respect to its most popular albums suggests that UMG was intentionally concealing the true amount of sales, and therefore royalties, due and owing to Limp Bizkit in order to unfairly keep those profits for itself.”

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Limp Bizkit’s Lawyers Detail Lawsuit Claiming Unpaid Royalties

Over the years, there have been missing royalties, mysterious charges to the band, and claims of recoupable advances. Allegedly, Limp Bizkit was charged $199,676 by UMG at one point, while the company claimed they had paid the band $43 million in advances. That, according to UMG, is why they hadn’t received any royalties.

This past spring, UMG paid the band $1.03 million and Durst’s Flawless Records $2.3 million. However, Durst’s lawyers are claiming that Limp Bizkit is still owed.

“Given the vast amounts of money collected by UMG in relation to sales of Limp Bizkit’s and Flawless Records’ albums over the years … UMG is liable to plaintiffs for tens of millions of dollars in copyright infringement, if not more,” the lawsuit continued. “Indeed, Plaintiffs allege that the amounts owed to them by UMG following the rescission of these agreements will easily surpass $200 million.”

Limp Bizkit is also seeking to break its recording contract with UMG. They are also asking for the rights to their music be handed back to them, and for damages related to copyright infringement, according to a report from Billboard.

Featured Image by Juan Pablo Pino / AFP