George Clinton sues Universal Music over alleged royalty freeze topping $1 million

George Clinton sues Universal Music over royalty freeze

George Clinton has filed a new lawsuit against Universal Music Group, accusing the label of freezing more than $1 million in royalties and leaving him, in his lawyers' words, "financially crippling" with no legal justification. According to Billboard, the suit was filed on May 15 and targets what Clinton describes as a blanket withholding of 100% of his royalties across every account the label holds for him.

How the freeze started

The dispute traces back to a case brought in 2022 by the estate of Bernie Worrell, the late keyboardist and Parliament-Funkadelic member. Worrell's estate claimed co-creator status on 264 songs in the P-Funk catalog, including Billboard Hot 100 hits "Flash Light" and "One Nation Under a Groove." While that litigation was pending, UMG began withholding Clinton's royalties, a standard industry practice during active legal disputes. The label was itself named in the Worrell lawsuit but was dropped from the case in 2023 after a judge ruled it was a non-necessary party.

The entire case against Clinton was then dismissed in September after a judge ruled that Worrell's estate had waited too long to bring the claim. The estate is currently appealing that ruling at a federal appeals court.

Clinton's argument

Despite the dismissal, UMG has not released the frozen funds. Clinton's lawyers argue the freeze was never proportionate to begin with: the Worrell suit only sought a 50% share of certain tracks, yet UMG froze accounts covering recordings with no connection to that litigation whatsoever. "These funds have been frozen for more than three years, with no legal justification," the complaint states.

Clinton's legal team frames the case as a straightforward breach of contract. His record deal does allow the label to freeze royalties when "reasonably necessary" to protect against litigation risk, but his lawyers contend that condition no longer applies since UMG faces no claim and no potential liability in the remaining appeal.

For fans of Parliament-Funkadelic and the wider legacy of P-Funk, the case raises uncomfortable questions about how legacy artists are treated when catalog disputes arise. UMG did not return a request for comment before publication.

A long history of legal battles

This is far from Clinton's first courtroom appearance. He has fought multiple cases with Worrell and the Worrell estate over the years, and has also dealt with prolonged litigation involving his former agent Armen Boladian, whose company Bridgeport Music owns 90 percent of Clinton's publishing catalog.