Iggy Azalea went off on Universal Music Group in a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. She is accusing the record label of allegedly robbing her of millions. "Crazy how in my entire career I was never paid a single royalty by universal music for anything outside of the USA. They owe me millions of dollars in back pay, that they technically stole from me, as per my contract Iam due payment," Azalea wrote. From there, she claimed UMG offered her a settlement of $18,000. She estimates the company actually owes her an amount somewhere in eight-figure range.
She continued: "I’m told this is a normal response from their lawyers and after appearing in court they end up paying millions as they’re supposed to. Thankfully I’m well off and can and will pursue this issue until they pay me what they owe. But I’d like to publicly say that I think universal music are criminals who actively take advantage of ALL of their artists in perpetuity for their own gain. They are the scummiest company and they do this to SO MANY artists who unfortunately can’t afford to fight for what they’re owed thus they get away with this behavior. Universal music really needs to do better in their treatment of the artists who quite literally earn them millions via intellectual property they had zero part in creating. Yuck."
Drake's UMG Lawsuit
Iggy Azalea's complaints come as Drake has been taking legal action against Universal Music Group. He alleges the company artificially boosted the success of Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss track. He says they did so in an effort to devalue his brand amid contract negotiations. While Drake isn't targeting Lamar directly, his lyrics that label him a "pedophile" are at the center of the lawsuit. In turn, Drake is seeking nominal, punitive and compensatory damages, “including general, actual, consequential, and special damages.”
UMG has yet to respond to Iggy Azalea, but they've denied the allegations in Drake's lawsuit. Azalea says she's been dealing with her situation with them privately for two years by this point.
[Via]
