Limp Bizkit are all the rage again thanks to nu metal’s post-pandemic revival – except, according to a new lawsuit, they allegedly hadn’t seen a cent from it until recently.
The band and frontman Fred Durst are suing Universal Music Group for $200million (£152.7m), having filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court 8 October, according to Billboard.
Lawyers for Durst and the band claim that Limp Bizkit and “possibly hundreds of other artists” have “unfairly had their royalties wrongfully withheld for years” under a “fraudulent” system created by Universal Music. They further allege that UMG “deliberately designed” this policy to hide royalties from artists so that the label could “keep those profits for itself”.
“Despite this tremendous ‘come back,’ the band had still not been paid a single cent by UMG in any royalties until taking action against UMG, leading one to ask how on earth that could possibly be true,” say Durst’s lawyers.
“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.
“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. Durst’s representatives, suspicious that UMG was wrongfully claiming Plaintiffs’ accounts were un-recouped, suggested investigating further.”
After questioning UMG’s accounting and payment practices, Durst’s lawyers claim they have discovered that Limp Bizkit’s accounts held over $1million and the label “failed to alert” the band about the money.
The filing went on: “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.”
In response, UMG say that Limp Bizkit had been paid $43 million in recoupable advances over the years, which was apparently why the royalties had only just begun entering the accounts.
Durst’s lawyers added that UMG eventually released $1.03 million to the band, and $2.3 million to Durst’s label Flawless Records. However, they claim that they are still owed much more money.
UMG has not yet responded further to the lawsuit.
