BEVERLY HILLS (CelebrityAccess) – Australian rock-pop band, 5 Seconds of Summer’s (5SOS) previous management firm, YM&U Group is suing all four members for some big deals they helped secure, but the band fired them and refused to pay what was promised, according to the new lawsuit.
Howard King and Stephen Rothschild of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano and representing YM&U, filed the complaint in California Superior Court last week accusing 5SOS of refusing to pay back commissions the company is owed for promotions it brokered on behalf of the band. Which include a BMG album recording contract valued at $10M and a $1.5M merchandising extension with Bravado International Team.
5SOS signed with YM&U back in February of this year and the relationship was over in September. YM&U claims that right before the group were to sign on the dotted line, the band fired them, agreeing to pay 15% of the $4.1M advance received by BMG. Yet, a letter sent to YM&U by attorneys representing the group later claimed that they would not be paid for the several “multiple lucrative deals it negotiated on behalf of the group”.
In addition to the four members, their current manager, Benjamin Evans (who is alleged to have “encouraged” their behavior) is also named as a defendant in documents stating he acted with “fraud, malice, and oppression.” Evans was their manager before signing with YM&U and again after the YM&U contract was terminated. Reported by Billboard, the documents state, “Evans and 5SOS’s other advisors believed that, by refusing to play plaintiff anything for its months of services, 5SOS could pressure plaintiff to substantially discount what 5SOS owed”. YM&U claim invoices have been sent to the band, but so far … radio silence and the check isn’t in the mail.
This isn’t the first time the band was brought into a court of law. Back in 2019, they were sued after claims they plagiarized their hit song, “Youngblood” by lifting parts of the song “White Shadows” by Hungarian artist, David Henderson. It was later thrown out after the two sides agreed to a dismissal.
5SOS – comprised of singer, Luke Hemmings (25), bassist Calum Hood (25), drummer Ashton Irwin (27) and guitarist Michael Clifford (26) got their start in 2011 as YouTube sensations, gaining momentum after touring with boy band, One Direction. To date, 5SOS is the only band to debut at No. 1 with their first 3 album releases and the first Australian act with 3 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200.
