Universal Music Group has responded to the massive $200 million lawsuit recently brought against them by Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred Durst. Filed this past October, that lawsuit alleged that UMG had engaged in the use of “fraudulent’ accounting practices in a bid to short his band and several other associated artists on owed royalties.
As part of his claim, Durst also contended that the alleged shady practices weren’t limited solely to his group and that potentially “hundreds” of artists could have been victims. Durst claimed to have only recently filed suit after hiring on new financial representation, who started investigating why he and his Limp Bizkit bandmates had not received any substantial royalty payment on some 45 million copies of their albums that were sold/streamed.
Durst alleged that UMG had informed him that the label had yet to recoup the $43 million in advances and costs they had put into the albums, thus Durst and co. were not yet eligible for royalties.
Upon initial digging from his new financial representation, Durst claimed UMG released $1.03 million to the band, and $2.3 million to Durst‘s past Flawless Records imprint label. That venture put out albums from the likes of Puddle Of Mudd, The Revolution Smile and more.
Outside of seeking the potential $200 million in damages, Durst is also aiming to void Limp Bizkit‘s recording contract with UMG, thus granting the band ownership of their masters. He is further seeking to sever a similar arrangement with UMG he had for artists under the aforementioned Flawless Records imprint.
Per Rolling Stone, UMG are seeking to have Durst‘s lawsuit dismissed, claiming the allegations were “based on a fallacy”. Rolling Stone summed up UMG‘s argument for dismissal as follows:
‘UMG said that the dispute started with a director at the company reaching out to Limp Bizkit‘s manager over email seeking to set up a vendor profile so the band could get their recording royalties. The business manager had told the UMG director that most of the band members had sold off their royalty shares, but over a year later, he emailed again, clarifying he was referring to publishing royalties, not the recordings. UMG said the email communications, which they included in their reply, ‘eviscerate’ the fraud claims.’
Furthermore, UMG claim that the aforementioned $1.03 million paid to the band and $2.3 million paid to Flawless Records covered the entirety of all “outstanding royalties and profits” owed.
Update: November 25th, 2024 03:03pm:
Limp Bizkit‘s representatives have since issued a statement in response to UMG‘s motion to dismiss, and the claims made by UMG within it:
“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.”
