Usually, it’s good to hear about iconic Rap groups, but Black Sheep isn’t surfacing for a walk down Hip Hop’s memory lane. Instead, the classic duo—which includes Andres “Dres” Vargas Titus and William “Mista Lawnge” McLean—is reportedly suing Universal Music Group. According to a report by Rolling Stone, the pair have filed a $750 million class action lawsuit against UMG over unpaid royalties.
Black Sheep claims that UMG worked out a deal with Spotify that shortchanged artists in the long run. Universal is accused of exchanging music from artists for cash and Spotify stock.
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The rappers also allege they weren’t advised of this side deal; thus, it violates their contract with UMG’s subsidiary, Polygram.
“In the mid-2000s, Universal struck an undisclosed, sweetheart deal with Spotify,” the lawsuit reportedly reads. “Universal agreed to accept substantially lower royalty payments on artists’ behalf in exchange for equity stake in Spotify – then a fledgling streaming service.”
“Yet rather than distribute to artists their 50 percent of Spotify stock or pay artists their true and accurate royalty payments, for years Universal shortchanged artists and deprived plaintiffs and class members of the full royalty payments they were owed under Universal’s contract.”
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Following Rolling Stone‘s report, a UMG spokesperson denied Black Sheep’s claims.
“Universal Music Group’s innovative leadership has led to the renewed growth of the music ecosystem to the benefit of recording artists, songwriters and creators around the world,” they said.
“UMG has a well-established track record of fighting for artist compensation and the claim that it would take equity at the expense of artist compensation is patently false and absurd. Given that this is pending litigation, we cannot comment on all aspects of the complaint.”
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