One of the world's biggest music companies has been accused of depriving “hundreds” of artists and bands of royalties by a 90s nu-metal band. Limb Biskit.
Three decades after its rise to fame, the group (UMG) owes more than $200m after allegedly concealing royalties from Universal Music Group and its founder, Fred Durst.
In a lawsuit filed in California, lawyers representing Durst, Limp Bizkit and Flawless Records accuse UMG of using “software intentionally designed to hide royalties from artists (including the plaintiffs).”
UMG is one of the most powerful forces in the global music industry, with a roster that ranges from Taylor Swift and Neil Diamond to Dr. Dre and Renee Robb. The company did not respond to multiple calls Comment.
Limp Biskit claims that its songs, which have been played hundreds of millions of times on streaming platforms in 2024 alone, have not been paid “a single cent by UMG in any royalties” pending legal action, despite the “enormous” popularity of their songs in recent years.
The lawsuit, filed in California federal court, says more bands and acts could be disrupted. Lawyers for Durst, Limp Biskit and Flawless Records said the pre-trial discovery process – the exchange of information between both sides of a lawsuit – “will show that hundreds of other artists have been wrongfully defrauded of their royalties. , showing that the system was intentionally designed to defraud plaintiffs and other performers.
“These allegations are huge,” said Jay Gilbert, a music industry consultant and former executive at UMG and Warner Music Group. He is skeptical.
“My gut tells me that this is not a legitimate plan to stop royalty. It blew up an accounting issue,” Gilbert said. “It was very awkward and very difficult, but in my experience, I think it was less dramatic.”
The case is a “nuclear option,” said Mark Tavern, who previously worked at record companies including UMG and Sony Music. “I think it's designed to force a solution and happen quickly.”
“It's a bit overwhelming,” said Tavern, who teaches music at the University of New Haven. “It could easily be explained by bureaucracy or inefficiency” or the sheer volume of payments processed by a large music company like UMG, he said.
Durst says he was told by UMG that he had not received any royalty statements because his account had not yet been reimbursed, and that company executives had paid Limp Biskit $43 million in advance payments over the years.
When representatives of Durst and Limb Biskit gained access to UMG's portal for royalty reports in April, they say they noticed over $1 million in unpaid balances.
In August, UMG paid $1m to Limp Biskit and $2.3m to Flawless Records, which executives blamed for failing to pay sooner because of a bug in new software.
According to Gilbert, questions about royalty payments come up “all the time,” but rarely erupt into the open. “This kind of dirty laundry is usually not aired,” he said, adding that issues are usually resolved through “behind-the-scenes” censorship.
The global music industry has been rapidly transformed in recent decades, first by the rise of downloads and then by streaming. Thanks to the hundreds of millions of tracks that stack the libraries of platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, finding and listening to songs has never been easier.
Get the break stuff with the limb biscuit. It was first released in May 2000, but you can hear it while watching TV, scrolling through social media, or playing a video game. Gone are the days when you could go to a local record store, go through the racks, find an album, and eventually listen to a song. It is a few taps away.
Even lawyers for Limp Biskit said the band – which broke up in 2006 and reformed in 2009 – had a “relatively quiet period” in the early 2010s. However, in the case, interest in the band began to increase “exponentially” in 2017, leading to sold-out arenas and headlining gigs.
“There's a big pop-punk renaissance going on,” observed Tavern. “The present generation [of fans] Looking back 20 or 25 years.
Such “legacy” acts and artists, as referred to by music industry executives, are valued by record labels.
UMG sought Durst's approval to reissue Limp Biskit's 2000 album Chocolate Starfish and Hot Dog Flavored Water on vinyl last year. To Durst, it seemed like a “money grab”.
It is alleged that the petitioners are owed more than what they have paid. Durst, Limp Bizkit and Flawless Records are demanding a jury trial. Their case is already making waves.
“Everybody's talking about it,” observed Tavern, adding that the complexity of calculating music royalties in the streaming era has led to widespread confusion — and, at times, suspicion — of the industry's dominant institutions.
“The way payments are made is completely different now, and much more convoluted,” he said. “You can point to 450 million streams, but that's not the same as 450 million impressions.”
Gilbert said: “I think cooler heads will prevail,” suggesting that lawyers for both sides will meet privately to examine the facts. “This matter will be resolved,” he said. “I think it will go away.”
