Jermaine Dupri sues Sony for $18 million in unpaid royalties

Producer Jermaine Dupri filed an $18 million lawsuit on Monday against Sony Music Entertainment (SME), claiming that the company has been underpaying him for over 30 years. Dupri accused SME of unlawful practices beginning in May 1992, the month he first partnered with the company through his imprint So So Def Recordings. During his time with the label, Dupri worked with Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, Usher, Da Brat, Kriss Kross, and Xscape. His representatives stated that Dupri began to believe he was being underpaid in 2023, and that Sony has retroactively changed statements of his previously earned royalties—and underreported incoming royalties—in order to underpay him. They called SME’s actions “willful[ly] deceitful” and claimed they were “designed to harm” Dupri’s business. 

So So Def first signed a label agreement with Sony Music Entertainment in 1992. Five years later, the two properties entered into a JV agreement, and, after a buyout in 2002, Dupri’s label signed on with Sony’s Arista imprint. The new lawsuit claims that SME knowingly underpaid Dupri for a number of albums and songs released during this time, including almost $2 million total for Xscape’s “Hummin’ Comin’ At ‘Cha” and Da Brat’s “Funkdafied.” According to the claim, his So-So Def recordings and production work have grossed $200 million, much of which Sony has deliberately withheld from him. The suit requests $18 million in makeup royalties, as well as interest and attorney fees. Dupri is also known for his work with Mariah Carey, TLC, and Janet Jackson. He won a Grammy for Carey’s 2006 hit “We Belong Together.”

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