Iggy Azalea Blasts UMG for 8-Figure Royalty Scandal: “You Ugly B** – You Will Pay Me What’s Owed”

Iggy says Universal Music Group’s been playing broke, but she’s calling game over.

Photo by GQ

Australian rap queen and global hitmaker Iggy Azalea isn’t just firing shots — she’s lighting the whole damn label system on fire. Over the weekend, Iggy took to X (formerly Twitter) and unleashed a scathing callout against Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the industry giant of withholding millions in unpaid royalties throughout her career.

“Crazy how in my entire career I was never paid a single royalty by Universal Music for anything outside of the USA,” she wrote. “They owe me millions of dollars in back pay that they technically stole from me.” According to Iggy, the total amount owed is in the eight-figure range.

UMG’s response? A laughable settlement offer of $18,000.

You read that right. One of the most influential record labels in the world allegedly tried to wave off years of global royalties with a payout that wouldn’t even cover one week of a mid-tier influencer’s glam budget.

For those doing the math — that’s less than 0.2% of the millions she claims she’s owed. “I’m told this is a normal response from their lawyers,” she continued, “and after appearing in court, they end up paying millions as they’re supposed to.”

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about one artist’s paycheck. Iggy made a point to zoom out, accusing UMG of systematically exploiting artists:

“I think Universal Music are criminals who actively take advantage of ALL of their artists in perpetuity for their own gain… Yuck.”

This adds another chapter to UMG’s messy history with royalty disputes. From Limp Bizkit’s lawsuit over a software system allegedly designed to dodge artist payments to Prince’s infamous beef with Warner to Taylor Swift’s public battle for master rights — the pattern is louder than a double-platinum hook.

But Iggy? She’s not about to play quiet or play nice.

“Universal music mark my words you ugly b**** – You will pay me what’s owed.”

Talk about bars. Honestly, someone get this woman in the studio, because that line goes harder than half the rap charts right now.

Iggy Azalea shot to stardom in 2014 with the chart-topping “Fancy” and has since racked up multiple Billboard Hot 100 top tens, collabs with Ariana Grande, Rita Ora, and a Grammy nod for The New Classic. She's been operating independently since 2018 and released Money Come in 2024 — which, ironically, might’ve been trying to tell us something.

Where We Stand

Let’s be real — major labels love to romanticize “artist development” and “creative partnerships,” but when it’s time to run the numbers, suddenly, it’s all ghost budgets and mystery accounting software. Iggy calling out UMG is bigger than personal beef — it’s a reminder that the music biz still plays artists like pawns unless someone speaks up loud enough to shake the board.

And if there’s one thing about Iggy? She’s not here for the polite clapbacks or email chains. She’s dragging receipts and reputations.

Universal, you might want to log out of your socials and into your accounting software. You’ve got some overdue invoices to settle — and we’re all watching.