Universal Music Group is asking a court to dismiss a $200 million lawsuit filed by Limp Bizkit and its frontman Fred Durst over failure to pay royalties and other charges.
In a motion to dismiss filed in California on Friday (November 22), UMG wrote that Durst et al.’s “complaint is based on fallacies” and “should be dismissed with prejudice.”
Durst and Limp Bizkit sued UMG last month, alleging that the major music company “designed and implemented royalty software and systems that intentionally concealed royalties from artists, including Plaintiffs, and retained those profits for themselves.”
The band’s original filing further claims that they “found that UMG’s design flaws in its royalty software were systemic and affected not only Plaintiffs but potentially hundreds of other artists who have been unfairly withheld royalties for years.” .
It added: “The fact that UMG has created such a system while promoting itself as a company that prides itself on investing in and protecting artists makes the plaintiffs find UMG’s plan all the more shocking and disturbing”.
The complaint alleges that despite sales of Limp Bizkit exceeding 45 million Records since the band signed to a California indie band in the 1990s flip recordpublished by UMG endoscope.
According to a motion filed Friday by UMG attorneys, communications between Limp Bizkit’s business manager and UMG’s senior director of royalties “eviscerate [the] claim” It was not until the band’s business manager contacted UMG in April 2024 that Limp Bizkit and others “discovered the fraud.
UMG said the communications show that more than a year ago, an executive in its royalty unit “unilaterally and affirmatively contacted the same business manager” — Paul Towers of Level 4 Business Management LLC — — and “informed him of the need to “set up a supplier profile for Limp Bizkit” so that the company could “start paying royalties to the band.”
According to UMG, Ta said in response that “all but one member of Limp Bizkit” (including Fred Durst) had “sold/transferred” their share” of the royalties to others, and that ” Accordingly, no royalties are payable to Durst or the Company.” Other confirmed band members”.
UMG added: “In other words, Plaintiff’s entire account of UMG’s attempts to conceal royalties is fiction. The statement Mr. Ta made to UMG regarding the sale/transfer was clearly a mistake, and some fifteen months later, when he When he again communicated with UMG’s royalty department, he became aware of this, and the plaintiff admitted that he had since received millions of dollars in payments from UMG.
“Nonetheless, the plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on ‘suspicion’ grounds, alleging breach of contract and fraud.[on]’They are owed more royalties and are seeking to rescind the parties’ agreement, among other relief.
UMG’s Friday filing (which you can read here) further explains that the band’s business manager contacted Universal’s royalty department again on April 9, 2024 and “corrected his previous misstatements and It was suggested that ‘most Limp Bizkit members were only allocated 13’ and that he was ‘unaware of the band allocating its artist royalties to any other company’.
Armed with this “new information,” UMG claimed in its motion to dismiss, it “then began obtaining the required forms and banking information to begin paying royalties to the band.”
UMG said it paid Limp Bizkit $1.03 million in return royalties in August 2024 and paid Flawless Records a $2.3 million “return profit participation” the next day.
Universal said it subsequently stated that all “unpaid royalties and profits” had been paid, but “despite these payments, Limp Bizkit issued a formal revocation of the Flip Agreement, Recording Agreement to UMG on September 30, 2024 on the 22nd Notice”. , and Section 23 Perfection Agreement (the “Notice of Dismissal”). “
UMG added that when it refused to terminate the notice, Limp Bizkit filed the current lawsuit against the music company, alleging “no less than 15 state (and one federal) constructive claims for relief,” including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud Sexual Concealment and Other Claims.
The lawsuit also seeks compensation for other artists who collaborated with UMG through Durst’s perfect record. It also asked the court to return Universal Music Group’s copyright to the artists’ works,global music business
