According to published reports, Lil Wayne’s California lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) and SoundExchange will be put on hold until the resolution of his lawsuit against Birdman and Cash Money Records in a New York federal district court is resolved. The suits both involve unpaid royalties, with the California judge ruling that the Cash Money case should move forward first.
Back in December 2014, Wayne suddenly sued his longtime record label for at least $51 million in damages, alleging that Cash Money only paid him $2 million of the $10 million it owed him for recording and delivering the Carter V album, and that Wayne had not been registered as a co-owner of the sound recordings included on his 2013 album I Am Not a Human Being II, as well as several other accounting irregularities. There has been little movement in the suit since, and Wayne recently called off settlement talks, with the apparent intention of taking Birdman and Cash Money to court.
The suit against UMG alleges that the major has been redirecting royalties due to Wayne in order to pay back its own $100 million advance to Cash Money, of which $60 million is un-recouped, according to court documents.
Filed in March, Wayne is seeking at least $40 million in damages over those royalties, which derive from his interests in Young Money and role in discovering and signing Drake, Nicki Minaj and Tyga. The report this week revises the damages being sought to $20 million.
While initially appearing like a setback, the ruling is fairly common when lawsuits pertaining to similar contracts are being disputed simultaneously.
Source: Billboard
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