Fred Durst, the lead singer of Limp Bizkit, has sued Universal Music Group for millions of dollars in unpaid royalties. He filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in a California federal court. However, a Van Halen member also once pulled a gun on Fred Durst.
Durst claims that UMG has a dishonest system that hides royalties from artists while keeping the money for themselves. He is also asking for compensation for other artists connected to UMG through his label, Flawless Records.
Although Limp Bizkit has sold over 45 million records and had more than 450 million streams on Spotify this year, Durst says he has never received any royalties from Universal. He and his bandmates are seeking $20 million in damages, but they believe the total amount owed could be over $200 million.
The lawsuit states that UMG told Durst’s team that about $43 million needs to be paid back before he can get any royalties. Durst’s representatives were informed that royalties wouldn’t be given because his account was significantly in debt. However, they found out that the band’s original label, Flip Records, made millions from profit-sharing with UMG.
The lawsuit claims that UMG owes Limp Bizkit tens of millions of dollars because of the money they made from the band’s albums. They are accusing UMG of breaking contracts, hiding information, and copyright infringement.