Bad Boy Chiller Crew Files Lawsuit Against Record Label for Over £400,000 in Unpaid Royalties

Bad Boy Chiller Crew’s Legal Battle

Bad Boy Chiller Crew are suing their former label, claiming they are owed around £400,000 in unpaid royalties.

The Bradford rap trio, nominated for Best Group at the 2023 BRIT Awards, stated they have “no choice” but to take legal action against House Anxiety, which signed them in 2020.

Claims Against House Anxiety

BBCC released the mixtape “Full Wack No Brakes” (2020) on an independent label. Their follow-up “Disrespectful” (2022) and 2023’s “Influential” were released via Relentless Records and Sony Music Entertainment UK under exclusive license from House Anxiety.

The group alleges that House Anxiety was meant to send them royalty reports every six months but only provided the first report in October this year.

They claim that “huge amounts” were improperly deducted from this report, and the statement allegedly did not mention the £217,000 that the label received as part of a licensing agreement with Relentless, a subsidiary of Sony Music.

BBCC argues they cannot accurately calculate the total amount owed until a full set of reports is provided. However, they estimate it will be at least £400,000.

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A post shared by BBCC Bad Boy Chiller Crew (@badboychillercrew)

In response, House Anxiety stated it “completely refutes these allegations.” The band also revealed that their contract with the label had expired.

In June, Bad Boy Chiller Crew independently released an EP titled “Summer 24”. However, the project was subsequently removed from Spotify after House Anxiety claimed it breached their contract.

Bad Boy Chiller Crew issued a statement via BBC News, stating: “Like all other bands, we do not seek legal action, but when faced with a label that would not allow us to self-release our own music for our fans and would not pay us the royalties owed for our own music, we felt that we have no other choice.”

Jamie Hodgson, founder of House Anxiety, remarked: “We completely refute these allegations and welcome the opportunity to clarify these inaccuracies.”

“As an artist-friendly independent label, we remain very proud of every element of ‘Full Wack No Breaks’ and all the hard work that went into its campaign and then stepping aside to allow BBCC to realize their dream of becoming a major label artist.”

Hodgson concluded: “There will be no further comment at this time.”

Sharing a screenshot from BBC News, BBCC said in an Instagram post today (December 12): “Hope this clears things up for a lot of people. We need the support of our fans more than ever. Thank you.” See post above.

“Disrespectful” peaked at number two on the UK album chart in 2022. NME awarded the project four stars, stating: “Bad Boy Chiller Crew clearly just want to keep making songs that purposefully and brilliantly celebrate the hedonistic aspects of life—and that desire should be embraced.”

“They find their power not only in the recording booth, but also on stage, on the race track, and on the dance floor, completely self-aware and seemingly unstoppable.”