Chuck D of Public Enemy has become the latest musician to bring his own class action against the major record label Universal Music Group alleging the underpaying of royalties on digital downloads. Chuck D’s lawsuit follows similar class action brought by Rob Zombie and the estate of Rick James.
The lawsuit alleges that Universal Music Group routinely miscalculates the royalties owed to artists for digital downloads by treating them as “sales” of physical records rather than “licenses.” Lawyers at Hausfeld LLP says that UMG has underpaid hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties, and pointed to a decision in 2010 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that offers some precedent that digital downloads should be treated as “licenses.”
(via The Hollywood Reporter)