Reggae Legend Max Romeo Accuses UMG Of Racial Bias In Lawsuit Over Unpaid Royalties

Reggae legend Max Romeo has claimed in new court filings that Universal Music Group (UMG) and Polygram Publishing’s practice of failing to send royalty statements was particularly prevalent for Jamaican Reggae artists, many of whom are Black.

The claim is among several new allegations introduced in a “Proposed Second Amended Complaint” filed in the New York Supreme Court on July 15 over allegedly unpaid royalties from two albums released under a production agreement with Island Records, now owned by UMG, and a songwriter agreement with Island Music, now owned by Polygram—both signed in 1976.  

Island Records and Island Music were founded by Chris Blackwell, who reportedly sold the companies for nearly US$300 million back in 1989.

Racial Bias Alleged

“Defendants never sent Mr. Romeo any royalty statements until 2021. This was no accident,” the amended complaint, obtained by DancehallMag, alleges.

The complaint accuses UMG/Island of a pattern of “fraudulent concealment,” claiming, “Defendants’ practice of failing to send artist royalty statements was especially prevalent when it came to reggae artists, who were Black.”

It contended that UMG would repeatedly “lose track” of these artists’ addresses as a pretext to withhold statements and payments.  “More specifically, Island Records’ practice was to change the artist’s address in its records to ‘unknown’ or ‘no address,’ which in Mr. Romeo’s case was simply not true.  Once this occurred, the artist would automatically not receive any further royalty statements or payments, and Island Records engaged in no additional efforts to confirm the artist’s address or locate the artist.”

The complaint states that since the 1970s, Romeo never moved or changed his address until recently.

It further alleged that UMG employed tactics such as claiming they couldn’t understand Jamaican accents on the phone to deter Reggae artists from inquiring about royalties.  “The practice of the Royalty Department employees was to either hang up the phone or provide inaccurate information in order to end the conversation,” it added.

$2,500 JMD Advance

Another interesting allegation is that Blackwell’s Island Records paid Romeo only $2,500 Jamaican dollars, the equivalent of US$16 at the time, as an advance.  In the amended complaint, Romeo contends that he was actually entitled to advances totaling US$22,500 — 50% of US$15,000 for the first album, War Ina Babylon (1976), with producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, and $15,000 for Reconstruction (1977)—which Island Records allegedly never paid.

Romeo has noted that UMG only made its first royalty payment to him in September 2021 for US$113,085. However, according to him, this payment not only failed to properly account for numerous years and multiple compilations and releases featuring his work, but also it included deductions for the advances that were allegedly never paid.

‘Employee For Hire’

Romeo has claimed he has not received “a penny in [publishing] royalties” for the songs on the two albums, including his biggest hit, Chase The Devil, which has been sampled widely by the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, and The Prodigy, and used in soundtracks for various films and video games such as Grand Theft Auto.  Interestingly, he contends that the version of the songwriter agreement he received omitted crucial pages outlining the royalty structure of the deal. 

In the new amended complaint, he further alleges that Island Records altered the agreement after it was signed, including the addition of handwritten notes that labeled him an “Employee for Hire,” a designation ‘that generally wouldn’t entitle him to royalties.’

Missing Royalty Statements

The amended complaint pointed to over ten years of recording royalty statements and 29 years of publishing royalty statements, which were missing from the statements provided for the first time in 2021. It noted that some of these missing statements were from the first five years of the albums’ releases, which they said were “the most lucrative for earnings.”

The complaint outlined that “Mr. Romeo inquired with UMG and/or its predecessors, Island Records and Island Music, about his failure to receive royalty payments under the Agreements.  Mr. Romeo was repeatedly and falsely told by UMG and/or its predecessors that he had no rights to any royalties. For example, in 1976, he called Island Records from Jamaica, and Island Records advised that he did not have a royalty contract.  In winter of 1978, Mr. Romeo spoke with multiple Island Records employees, including Thomas Francis Hayes, then the Sales Manager, General Manager and Director of Island Records, and Charles Comer, Publicity Manager for Island Records.  They refused to provide Mr. Romeo with any information about his contract status or unpaid royalties.”

“Later in 1978, Mr. Hayes promised to pay Mr. Romeo $11,000, but Island Records broke that promise and never paid Mr. Romeo,” it continued.

“In 1979, Lister Hewan-Lowe of Island Records told Mr. Romeo that he did not have a contract entitling him to royalties, but rather that Mr. Romeo’s biggest albums had been works for hire.  This was false.”

In addition to breaches of the two contracts, Romeo aims to introduce claims of fraudulent concealment, breach of good faith and fair dealing, breach of fiduciary duty, and failure of accounting. He’s seeking, among other things, at least $US15 million in damages and also aims to have the court rescind the agreements, effectively making him the legal owner of the two albums.

UMG and Polygram are being represented by Pryor Cashman LLP, the same law firm that represents the majority of the Reggaetón artists and record companies in Steely & Clevie’s copyright infringement lawsuit.

The case has been tumultuous since it was initiated in 2022, with Romeo changing legal representation twice.  Last Monday, his current attorneys, from Crowell & Moring LLP, sought leave to formally file the ‘Second Amended Complaint.’

In a parallel move, they also filed written arguments against UMG and Polygram’s motion to dismiss the ‘First Amended Complaint,’ which the judge has yet to rule on.  

In November 2023, the two companies sought to dismiss the case, arguing that the breach-of-contract claims fell outside New York’s six-year statute of limitations. They also argued that Romeo’s ‘First Amended Complaint’ lacked specifics about when the alleged contractual breaches occurred, which royalty statements were in question, and which contract provisions were violated. 

Romeo’s lawyers are now contending that the statute of limitations should be ‘tolled’ (not applied) because UMG deliberately impeded him from understanding his rights for over four decades by failing to provide royalty statements.  

“Defendants’ persistent and inexcusable failure to provide any royalty statements under the Recording Agreement from the agreement’s execution in 1976 until 2021 hindered Plaintiff’s ability to understand or assert his rights,” they argued.