Kenny Lattimore Says He Wasn’t Paid a Dime On His Last Album

Photo Credit: Kenny Lattimore by John Mathew Smith / CC by 2.0

Kenny Lattimore sues his distributor over unpaid royalties, alleging he only received a single royalty check since his last album’s release in 2021.

R&B singer Kenny Lattimore says he hasn’t been paid a dime on his last album, aside from a single royalty check cut shortly after the record’s release in 2021. Now, he’s suing his distributor, SRG/ILS Group, in order to get what he alleges he’s owed.

According to the filing on Wednesday, February 18, Lattimore alleges he is owed at least $100,000 in unpaid royalties for his 2021 album, Here to Stay. SRG, which handles digital distribution for independent labels in partnership with Virgin Music (Universal Music Group), allegedly had a 50-50 recorded royalty split with Lattimore’s Sincere Soul Records.

Lattimore claims his 2021 album, featuring the hit “Take a Dose,” performed well enough to fully recoup any losses by 2022. But in spite of that success, SRG allegedly cut just a single royalty check for Lattimore: a 2023 payment of $4,400. The lawsuit claims that the distributor has likely withheld over $100,000 in royalties, but that the singer hasn’t been able to determine a full accounting because SRG refused to send him proper royalty statements—even after his attempts to initiate an audit in 2024.

“SRG deliberately and systematically obstructed the audit process by refusing to produce essential source documentation, rejecting reasonable and industry-standard confidentiality accommodations and preventing any meaningful independent verification of its accounting,” reads the filing.

Further, the suit claims that SRG, and even CEO Claude Villani himself, attempted to “intimidate and pressure” Lattimore into abandoning the audit. SRG executive VP Dominque Zgarka allegedly told the singer last year that “Claude’s patience is running out,” and that Lattimore should “expect some form of counterclaim/lawsuit to come from SRG/ILS unless this matter is settled in short order.”

Lattimore also alleges that SRG’s behavior was not an isolated incident. His filing points to a “broader pattern and practice of similar misconduct toward other recording artists,” including withholding royalties from R&B group After 7, and singer J. Brown.

The filing brings claims including breach of contract and deceptive business practices. Lattimore has requested a court-ordered accounting to determine the amount of royalties that SRG must pay, as well as financial damages.