royalties

R. Kelly Victims To Receive Over $500K In Royalty Payments

by

Universal Music Group has been ordered to release over $500,000 in R. Kelly royalties as part of continuing compensation to the disgraced singer’s victims. Court documents from the United States Court in the Northern District of Illinois show that UMG held unpaid royalties totaling $567,444.19. The money will now be distributed amongst Kelly’s victims, who have only received a reported $27,000 in restitution so far.

Reportedly, the restitution debt owed by Kelly in one case stood at $504,289.73 on June 1. This was according to a separate court filing in Brooklyn. However, Kelly also reportedly owes millions in several other court rulings. Heather Williams, one of the most prominent victims of Kelly, was awarded $4 million in damages in 2020. Elsewhere, an Illinois property management company won $3.5 million over unpaid rent on a Chicago studio owed by Kelly.

Read More: R. Kelly theorized that Jay-Z wanted to kill him

Williams Made Priority In Restitution

R. Kelly
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 26: R&B singer R. Kelly covers his mouth as he speaks to members of his entourage as he leaves the Leighton Criminal Courts Building following a hearing on June 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The ruling by the United States Court in the Northern District of Illinois not only established how much UMG was holding, but who it should be granted to. The court named Williams as the priority benefactor for the royalties money. This is due to her being the first to properly file a claim for restitution. It is believed that Williams will receive the entirety of the $567K. Furthermore, she will be continued to be paid Kelly’s royalties until the restitution is settled.

When approached for comment by HipHopDX, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said she had “no opinion” on the latest ruling. Bonjean had previously worked to get Williams’ $4 million figure quashed. “I’ve never in my career seen such a flouting of the rules to deny him even the opportunity to defend these civil cases, even when the courts were fully aware that Kelly was incarcerated, unrepresented at points, and facing multiple criminal indictments,” Bonjean said. “Indeed, much of these civil proceedings occurred without Kelly’s knowledge.”

[via]

The post R. Kelly Victims To Receive Over $500K In Royalty Payments appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Erica Banks Claims 1501 Owes Her Money In New Snippet

by

Erica Banks is the next in a long line of artists to take issue with her label. A new unreleased snippet of her music emerged where she called out the label. “And they owe me some money, they greedy,” the song’s lyrics read. She followed up the snippet by saying that she is no longer with the record label. Each of her 3 most recent projects were released on 1501 Certified including her breakout 2020 mixtape Erica Banks. Her debut studio album 2022’s Diary Of The Flow Queen was also released on the label, but it could be her last.

In the comments under the post, many pointed out Megan Thee Stallion’s similar issues with 1501 certified. “Meg tried to tell it but she was so pressed to be the new head female of that label she ignored it..well a lesson learned,” one comment read. “Megan Pete baby add this to your court docket and y’all team up to take his a*s straight to the bank because everybody need to see this label for what it really is and you can tell they have absolutely no respect for women!!” another comment says.

Erica Banks Takes Shots At Her Label

Erica Banks recently received some praise from high places when Ice Spice gave her her flowers. In response to the praise Banks’ called Ice Spice “everything.” The interaction started when it was announced that Banks’ would be joining Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta.

The biggest story of the year so far for Erica Banks has been her ongoing beef with recent XXL freshman Finesse2Tymes. After the pair had a short-lived relationship they started a beef. The conflict saw the pair exchanging increasingly NSFW shots back and forth publicly. While the beef ultimately didn’t lead to anything particularly dramatic Banks seems to have had no problem moving on. She was recently on Twitter flirting with fellow rapper Sukihana. What do you think of Erica Banks calling out her label? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Erica Banks Says She “Hated” Her Breakout Single “Buss It” Before It Blew Up

[Via]

The post Erica Banks Claims 1501 Owes Her Money In New Snippet appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Pusha T Still Cashes In Royalties For The Arby’s Commercial Theme Song

by

Pusha T’s skills as a rapper are well-documented over a 20-year career. You could talk about his solo albums, the Clipse discography with his brother Malice (now known as No Malice), his diss tracks, his features- but don’t forget his fast food contributions. Moreover, former G.O.O.D. Music executive Steven Victor explained during a recent interview how King Push still gets royalties for the song that sandwich chain Arby’s uses in all its commercials- a track with him and Yogi. Furthermore, as someone who’s worked a lot with the Virginia native, Victor labeled it as one of his best business moves.

“I think convincing Pusha to rap on Yogi’s beat, and it ended up being the theme song for Arby’s,” he stated with a smile when asked about what creative decisions he’s proudest of. “If you watch an Arby’s commercial, at the end of it, it goes, ‘Arby’s- we have the meats!’ That’s the song! They don’t even use Pusha’s part. But they have to pay him, because he owns 50 percent of the song. So, every time they want to sync the song, they have to come to us for approval.”

Read More: Pusha T Net Worth 2023: What Is The Rapper Worth?

Steven Victor Explains Pusha T’s Arby’s Royalties

At the time of writing this article, the track “Burial” by Yogi and Pusha T soundtracks Arby’s commercials- and has done so for seven years. While it’s unclear exactly how much the 46-year-old has made as a result, we can imagine it’s quite a lot. What’s more is that he also worked with Arby’s to write and record a diss track against McDonald’s’ Filet-O-Fish. The “Spicy Fish Diss Track” sees the MC go way harder than he ever needed to for it to be good.

In fact, for those unaware, the “Diet Coke” artist has quite the history with McDonald’s, involving yet another jingle. He and his brother wrote the iconic “I’m Lovin’ It” tag in 2003 and got paid a one-time fee with no royalties. Considering that Justin Timberlake received $6 million to record it, they felt cheated out, and thus, Push waged war in the fast-food realm. Talk about a hunger for revenge. For more news and the latest updates on Pusha T, log back into HNHH.

Read More: Pusha T’s Best Songs

[via]

The post Pusha T Still Cashes In Royalties For The Arby’s Commercial Theme Song appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Kyle Is Offering Music Royalty Shares From His First MFT Album ‘It’s Not So Bad’

by
Kyle Drive In 2020
Getty Image

Kyle found a unique way to revitalize his January album It’s Not So Bad this week, turning the album to an MFT (Music Fungible Token) in collaboration with Opulous. According to WeFunder, this marks one of the first times future master recordings for an entire album are tokenized into MFTs. Because It’s Not So Bad is nearly five months old, those who purchase MFTs will immediately begin earning a portion of the album’s royalty revenue.

Opulous has previously worked with artists such as Lil Pump, Soulja Boy, and Ardz Ardz. Kyle had this to say about the venture: “I wanted to release a whole MFT album with Opulous so that my fans and I can get closer to a model of becoming successful as a unit, redefining success together. Sharing this experience with fans and maybe even friends and family is a valuable thing. I don’t think anything will be able to match the feeling as we cross the finish line together.”

The 12-track album It’s Not So Bad featured Craig David, Ivory Scott, Dougie F, and Beam. Kyle and Opulous are offering multiple tiers including different perks such as meeting Kyle in person or at one of his concerts. Purchase your MFTs for It’s Not So Bad here.