The biggest Verzuz battle yet will not happen on stage but in a courtroom.
Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have filed a $28 million lawsuit against Triller over missing payments, reports Deadline.
According to the suit filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the video sharing and social platform allegedly began missing scheduled payments to the duo in January of this year.
“To date, Defendants have failed and refused to make any payment to [Swizz Beatz and Timbaland] of the past due sums due and owing,” the suit reads.
Triller reportedly made initial cash payments to Swizz Beatz and Timbaland in January 2021 and April 2021 but failed to make the payment that was due in January 2022.
The suit goes on to say that when a new payment arrangement was established, Triller reportedly made the first payment back in February. Also, Triller was reportedly scheduled to pay an additional $18 million by March 17, plus $1 million more per month for another 10 months which the plaintiffs allege have not been made.
Triller has been the subject of several allegations of nonpayment for quite some time. Last year, Triller announced a new partnership with 300 Black creators “who would receive a collective $14 million along with equity for participating in the deal.” Many of those creators claim that Triller began defaulting on payments almost immediately, as reported by the Washington Post. Creators who produced custom shows for Triller TV's live-streaming service also alleged that they were owed tens of thousands of dollars by the company.
After launching on Instagram Live in March of 2020 during the height of the pandemic, Triller acquired Verzuz in January 2021 for an undisclosed sum.
“This is a momentous occasion not only for Verzuz and Triller but the music business as a whole,” Swizz Beatz and Timbaland said in a joint statement at the time.
Earlier this year, Amazon Studios struck a deal with Swizz Beatz and Timbaland for a feature-length documentary Gifted & Black, inspired by the creation of Verzuz.
