George Clinton is suing Universal Music Group over accusations that the music giant is “financially crippling” him by freezing more than $1 million in his royalty accounts amid a long-simmering dispute over ownership of his catalog.
In a new lawsuit filed Friday (May 15), Clinton claims UMG has unfairly withheld all royalties merely because of a separate case filed years ago by the estate of late Parliament-Funkadelic member Bernie Worrell seeking a cut from hundreds of P-Funk tracks.
Related
But Worrell’s lawsuit was dismissed last year, Clinton says — and yet, UMG is still refusing to pay him his royalties.
“UMG continues to withhold 100% of royalties from plaintiff across every royalty account, including accounts for sound recordings that have no [connection] whatsoever to the Worrell litigation,” his lawyers write. “These funds have been frozen for more than three years, with no legal justification, financially crippling plaintiff.”
Worrell’s estate sued Clinton in 2022, claiming the keyboardist had been a co-creator of 264 songs in the P-Funk catalog, including Billboard Hot 100 hits “Flash Light” and “One Nation Under a Groove.” The case sought a court ruling that the estate was the co-owner of those tracks.
While the lawsuit was pending, UMG started withholding royalties from Clinton, a common industry practice during litigation. The company was initially named in the Worrell lawsuit, and Clinton’s record deal allows the label to freeze royalties when “reasonably necessary” to protect itself from liability if the music is involved in litigation.
UMG was dropped from the case in 2023 after a judge ruled that it was a non-necessary party. Then the entire case against Clinton was tossed out in September after a judge ruled that Worrell’s estate waited years too long to sue. The estate is currently challenging that ruling at a federal appeals court, where the case remains pending.
In Friday’s new lawsuit, Clinton says UMG is still unfairly withholding all of his royalties, even though the Worrell lawsuit only ever dealt with a 50% cut and there’s no longer any legal risk to the company to justify the freeze.
“This is a straightforward breach of contract case arising from UMG’s decision to withhold 100% of royalties payable … based on a third-party lawsuit to which UMG is not a party, in which UMG faces no claim, in which UMG could incur no liability, and in which the third party has now lost on summary judgment,” Clinton’s lawyers write.
UMG did not immediately return a request for comment.
Clinton is no stranger to litigation. He fought earlier battles with Worrell and his estate, as well as numerous cases with his former agent, Armen Boladian, whose company, Bridgeport Music, owns 90 percent of Clinton’s publishing.
