Rapper Iggy Azalea has publicly accused Universal Music of failing to pay her royalties for international earnings, claiming the label owes her millions of dollars in back pay. In a series of tweets, The Australian artist alleged that despite her success outside the U.S., she has never received a single royalty payment from Universal for her overseas earnings.
“Crazy how in my entire career I was never paid a single royalty by Universal Music for anything outside of the USA,” Azalea stated on X Saturday afternoon. “They owe me millions of dollars in back pay, that they technically stole from me, as per my contract I am due payment.”
According to Azalea, the amount owed is substantial. “The amount owed is in the 8-figure range,” she revealed. Despite this, she claims Universal initially responded to her legal demands with a dramatically lower offer. “Last week they tried to respond to my lawyer and offer me a settlement of 18k.”
Azalea suggested that this tactic is common for the label and that artists often have to escalate the matter legally to receive what they are owed. “I’m told this is a normal response from their lawyers and after appearing in court they end up paying millions as they’re supposed to.”
The Australian rapper, who rose to prominence with hits like Fancy and Black Widow, made it clear that she intends to fight for her compensation. “Thankfully I’m well off and can and will pursue this issue until they pay me what they owe,” she stated.
Beyond her own situation, Azalea criticized Universal Music for its broader treatment of artists. “I’d like to publicly say that I think Universal Music are criminals who actively take advantage of ALL of their artists in perpetuity for their own gain,” she said. “They are the scummiest company, and they do this to SO MANY artists who unfortunately can’t afford to fight for what they’re owed, thus they get away with this behavior.”
Azalea called on Universal to change its business practices and recognize the contributions of the artists who fuel its success. “Universal Music really needs to do better in their treatment of the artists who quite literally earn them millions via intellectual property they had zero part in creating. Yuck.”
She added in another tweet that,“This has been going on between myself and them (privately) for over two years and counting, by the way.”
Universal Music has not publicly responded to Azalea’s accusations. However Ziggy showed text messages reveling that the company said they owned her $18,000.
In 2022, Domain Capital acquired 100% of her share of her existing catalogue with a “an additional trigger” to earn future revenue on master recordings.
