George Clinton, funk pioneer and leader of the widely sampled funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, has sued Universal Music over its decision to withhold royalties he is due because of another legal battle between Clinton and the estate of one of his former collaborators, Bernie Worrell.
That dispute, in which the Worrell estate claims it actually has a 50% stake in many of Clinton’s recordings, is now with the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court in the US.
But that’s no reason for Universal to keep withholding Clinton’s recording royalties, the new lawsuit insists, because Universal is “not a party” in the Worrell litigation, “faces no claim” and “won’t incur any liability” however that legal battle turns out.
Clinton’s contracts with Universal do allow it to withhold money “as may be reasonably necessary” in order “to protect” the major from potential liabilities. But, as Clinton’s lawsuit stresses, “no such potential liability exists”.
Worrell was keyboardist in Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic collective. His widow Judie Worrell went legal in 2022 claiming her late husband, and therefore his estate, was joint owner of 264 songs in the Parliament-Funkadelic catalogue.
However, the case was dismissed last September, with a judge ruling that the estate’s claim was barred by the statute of limitations under US copyright law. The Worrell estate is now appealing.
Universal was originally a co-defendant in the Worrell v Clinton lawsuit, but legal claims against the major - and other music companies also initially involved - were dismissed in October 2023.
However, despite all that, Universal is still withholding Clinton’s royalties, which have been building for more than three years and are now in excess of $1.1 million. And with that much money now owing, the payment delays are proving to be “financially crippling” for Clinton, his lawsuit concludes.