Swizz Beatz, Timbaland sue Triller for $28M in missed Verzuz payments

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland take Triller to court for millions of dollars in Verzuz missed payments. Here’s what happened.

by Stacy Simons Santos from Celebrity Access

Artists and producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland are suing social media platform Triller, claiming they are owed more than $28 million after the company acquired the duo’s music series Verzuz in 2021, Billboard reports.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday (August 16) in Los Angeles Superior Court, as reported by the Washington Post, alleges Triller began missing payments in January 2022. “To date, Defendants have failed and refused to make any payment of the past due sums due and owing,” the suit reportedly reads.

The lawsuit claims Timbaland and Swizz received cash payments in January and April 2021, but payments due in January 2022 never arrived. The musicians’ lawyers argue that a new payment plan was agreed upon, with Triller required to pay another $18 million by March 17, plus $1 million more per month for another ten months. The plaintiffs allege those payments have not been made.

When the news of the sale to Triller was announced, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland announced that a portion of their equity would go to all of the artists who had previously participated in Verzuz, including DMX, Alicia Keys, Nelly, Gladys Knight, T-Pain, and D’Angelo, among others.

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland set a deal with Amazon Studios earlier this year for a feature-length documentary, Gifted & Black, inspired by Verzuz.