Court Rules Against Universal Music In Lawsuit That Could Pay Artists Millions. Chuck D Joins Fight.

image from www.google.comWelcome to every major label's worst nightmare. Universal Music Group (UMG) is now facing the real possibility of mulitple class action lawsuits alleging they short-changed artists of royalties owed for digital downloads and ringtones. This week, the combined force of Rob Zombie and the estate of Rick James cleared a legal hurdle for their class action suit filed in April, and Chuck D introduced a fresh lawsuit making similar claims. UMG hopes to have both suits treated as breach-of-contract disputes since, if allowed to move forward as class actions, they can conceivably include all UMG artists.