Sony Music Entertainment has responded to Jermaine Dupri‘s $18 million lawsuit, expressing disappointment that the long-running royalty dispute has moved to court.
Dupri, through his So So Def Recordings and So So Def Productions companies, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
He claims Sony underpaid royalties and failed to provide accurate accounting for revenue generated under their decades-long business relationship.
The lawsuit covers recordings from So So Def’s catalog and names artists including Kris Kross, Xscape, Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Bow Wow, and several other acts that helped define the label.
Sony, however, insists the disagreement centers on royalty accounting rather than deliberate misconduct.
This matter concerns a royalty accounting dispute the parties were actively engaged in attempting to resolve. We are disappointed that So So Def elected to pursue litigation rather than continue that dialogue.
The company did not address the lawsuit’s specific allegations. Instead, Sony said both sides had spent months trying to resolve the dispute before Dupri filed the case.
Dupri has not responded publicly to Sony’s statement, and his legal team has not released any additional comments beyond the allegations outlined in the complaint.
The federal court has not yet held a hearing or issued any rulings.
Dupri is seeking at least $18 million in damages, arguing that Sony failed to pay royalties and properly account for revenue under agreements dating back to the early 1990s.
The case now moves into the next phase as both sides prepare to argue their positions in court.