In addition to the pending $51 million lawsuit against Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne is now taking aim at Universal Music Group. On March 28th, Lil Wayne filed a lawsuit in California with claims that Universal Music Group owes him an estimated $40 million in damages in unpaid profits. He is fighting for millions owed to him for previous work with his artists Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga. According to court documents, Young Money and Cash Money agreed to split the profits (51%-49%) and ownership of all property belonging to the Young Money label (e.g., copyrights, master recordings, intellectual property, etc). This deal expired on June 4, 2015 after multiple forced extensions due to the ongoing legal battle against Birdman and Cash Money. Lil Wayne’s attorney, Howard E. King, issued a statement, “Universal should be grateful and respectful to Lil Wayne for the millions of dollars in distribution fees and profits they have earned on the artists he brought to the company…instead of seizing all of his profits on those artists in a desperate attempt to recoup the tens of millions of dollars they are owed by Cash Money Records.” The non-profit royalty collection agency, SoundExchange, is also a defendant in the case. Lil Wayne’s court documents claims that the agency – whose in charge of collecting and distributing royalties – is not doing their job by refusing to pay monies owed to Young Money LLC.
