Iggy Azalea does not mess around with her money. The Australian rap star blasted Universal Music Group (UMG) on social media over the weekend, claiming the powerhouse label owes her and various artists hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties. And if they thought she would let it slide, they were sorely mistaken.
Iggy didn't beat around the bush in a series of incendiary tweets. She says that following her global success, she has never seen a single royalty check from UMG for anything outside North America. And to make matters worse? When she challenged them over the issue, they supposedly attempted to placate her with a settlement offer of $18,000.
"They owe me millions of dollars in back pay," she said. "They technically stole from me, because I am owed payment according to my contract."
And for an artist who's taken years to build her brand, the accusation isn't about money but fairness. She called the company "criminals" and said they're "the scummiest" in the industry, echoing something she sees as a trope of exploitation, mainly targeting artists who simply don't have the resources to fight back.
And Iggy insists that what's happening to her is far from an isolated case. UMG uses these kinds of shady business playing all the time, she says, by sitting on a lot of money and betting that most musicians won't have the money to fight this in court.
"They do this to so many artists who sadly cannot afford to fight for what they're owed," she added. "Universal Music genuinely must set a much better bar in terms of how they treat the artists whose hard work, quite literally, allows them to make millions on intellectual property they had zero hand in creating."
While record labels have long been criticized for grossly unfair contracts and royalty disputes, Iggy's situation underscores the unique challenges artists face when seeking to recover their earnings. She said that significant labels employ financial and legal obstacles to intimidate artists from pursuing where the money is.
"That's really what that card is. It is hiding it, thinking the artist will never have enough money to pay for forensic accounting, even to go there," she said. "I can, and I will be bringing this to court."
Iggy was emphatic she's been battling this behind closed doors for two-plus years now, but she's prepared to take it public now. And if UMG assumed her rant was just a passing outburst, she wasted no time squashing that notion.
"Universal Music, you rotten b####, take this," she said. "You will give me what you owe me."
She also signaled that she has no qualms about going to court if she cannot quickly reach a "reasonable" settlement with the defendants. And history has taught us nothing else; Iggy Azalea never backs from a fight.
"One thing about me is: I am going to fight for what I want until I'm literally dragged out kicking and screaming," she said.
And with Iggy holding her ground and refusing to say anything, all is on UMG. Are they finally willing to pay up, or is this battle just beginning?
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