Never Received Royalties, Limp Bizkit Sues Universal Music Group for $200 Million

Universal Music Group (UMG), one of the world's biggest music giants, is being called out by Limp Bizkit, the 90s nu-metal legends. The band and frontman Fred Durst accuse UMG of depriving them of more than $200 million in royalties.
According to Limp Bizkit's legal team, UMG has been using shady software designed to hide royalties from artists, keeping the profits for themselves. Despite the band's massive comeback and their tracks being streamed like crazy in 2024, they haven't seen a dime from UMG. The lawsuit, filed in LA federal court, also suggests that many other artists might be in the same boat.
Jay Gilbert, a former UMG and Warner Music exec, suspects this might be a big accounting mess rather than a conspiracy. Mark Tavern, with experience at UMG and Sony Music, thinks Limp Bizkit is pushing for a quick settlement, attributing the issue to bureaucracy or incompetence.

UMG has reportedly told Fred that he hadn't received any royalty statements because his account was still far from being recouped, claiming to have paid the band around $43 million in advances over the years. However, Fred's team found over a million dollars owed to them when they accessed UMG's royalty portal in April. In August, UMG paid Limp Bizkit just over $1 million and $2.3 million to Flawless Records, blaming a software error for the delay.
The music industry has evolved with downloads and streaming taking over, making it easier to access songs like "Break Stuff" by Limp Bizkit anywhere, anytime. The band had a quiet period in the early 2010s but made a huge comeback around 2017, selling out arenas and headlining festivals.
UMG sought Fred's approval to reissue their 2000 album "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water" on vinyl and pushed him to get on board with an anniversary rerelease of "Significant Other." Fred saw this as a cash grab.
Limp Bizkit and Flawless Records are pushing for a jury trial, shaking things up in the industry. Tavern notes that calculating royalties in the streaming era is complex, leading to confusion and mistrust.
He says, "You can point to 450 million streams, but that is not the same as 450 million records." Gilbert believes cooler heads will prevail and both sides will sort it out behind the scenes.
UMG has faced similar allegations in the past, such as the 2011 lawsuit from Chuck D and Rob Zombie for underpaying digital royalties, which settled for $11.5 million in 2016. It'll be interesting to see if Limp Bizkit's lawsuit reveals bigger issues in the music industry.