More than ten producers that worked on Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's Vultures albums have alleged that they've not received payment for their work, Billboard reports.
Recorded under the joint alias ¥$, Vultures 1 was released in February this year, and its sequel came out in August. Since its release, the album has racked up north of 1 billion streams, and the lead single Carnival has received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song.
According to a group of lawyers representing the producers, many of them did not sign agreements with Ye before beginning work on the project, and are unable to collect fees and royalties as a result.
“We have clients who’ve produced music on the Vultures album(s) and have still not been paid for their services even though both albums have been released,” music attorney Bob Celestin told Billboard. “Presently, we have no idea when payment will be made, which is so unfortunate and unfair. You would think Ye would be more sensitive to this issue because he is a producer.”
The situation is indicative of a larger problem in the music industry, with many producers not receiving compensation for their work until more than a year after a project is released. In nine out of ten deals, lawyer Jason Berger says, the producer "has not been paid the day the music comes out.”
Lawyers for several producers that worked on Vultures 1 joined forces earlier this year to threaten West's distributor, Create, with legal action over unpaid royalties. Before they could reach Create, however, West had changed distributors.
West's team reportedly contacted several producers on the project to offer buyouts, a deal in which the producer receives a lump sum and waives any right to future royalties, but the offers were rejected. While buyouts aren't unheard of, established producers working on major releases will often choose to negotiate contracts that provide them a share of an album's royalties and publishing rights.
“We have no recourse besides to try to sue [Ye], but that's costly,” an unnamed lawyer told Billboard. “It’s a mess,” says another. “I just keep going back to that word.”
Vultures has been mired in controversy from the very beginning; back in February, West was accused of using unauthorized samples on the record by Ozzy Osbourne and the estate of Donna Summer.
Earlier this year, it was reported that British electronic artist Fred Again was working on Vultures, contributing production to the song Slide.
