In early October, reports emerged that LIMP BIZKIT and frontman Fred Durst had filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), claiming the label owes the band over $200 million. Durst‘s legal team alleged he hasn’t received any royalties for decades and suggested that hundreds of other artists might have faced similar treatment.
Now, Rolling Stone reports that UMG has responded to the lawsuit for the first time, dismissing Durst’s claims as “based on a fallacy” and requesting the court to dismiss the case.
Filed in a California federal court, the lawsuit claims that UMG has engaged in a “systemic” and “fraudulent” scheme intentionally designed to hide royalties from artists and retain the profits for itself. Durst is also seeking compensation for other artists who collaborated with UMG through his label, Flawless Records.
Durst alleged that he has never received any royalties from Universal throughout his entire career, even though the band has sold over 45 million records and their songs have garnered more than 450 million streams on Spotify this year alone.
In its response, UMG explained that the dispute began when a company director emailed LIMP BIZKIT‘s manager to set up a vendor profile to facilitate the band’s recording royalty payments. The band’s business manager initially informed the UMG director that most members had sold their royalty shares. However, over a year later, the manager clarified via email that he was referring to publishing royalties, not recording royalties. UMG included these email exchanges in its reply, asserting they “eviscerate” the fraud allegations.
UMG claims to have promptly addressed the issue, paying the band over $1 million in back royalties and Flawless Records $2.3 million, which they assert covers all “outstanding royalties and profits.”
Representatives of LIMP BIZKIT have issued a formal statement in response to UMG‘s motion to dismiss and the assertions contained therein.
Here’s their statement in full: “When someone is caught red handed, their first response is often to hire very expensive outside law firms who first, as a matter of course, try anything to dismiss the suit when they are in trouble with the facts. In this case, we believe UMG is using a typical, formulaic, well-trodden strategy of reaching for any escape route by desperately grasping at technicalities. We will rely on facts, the law, and the courts. We have no desire to prove a solid case in press releases.”
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