NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Zync Music Group, LLC/Zync Music, Inc. (ZYNC), which has offices located in Nashville, Los Angeles, London and New York, filed a lawsuit on Monday (May 13) against New York-based Round Hill Music Royalty Fund II LP (Round Hill Music/RHM) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The Complaint, obtained by Music Business Worldwide (MBW), accuses RHM, led by co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joshua Gross, of “egregious and numerous breaches” of their joint venture (JV) agreement, which was terminated in 2022.
The Complaint alleges that RHM, under the direction of Gruss, mismanaged assets and failed to appropriately deliver the administration services to which RHM had agreed to contribute to their JV. It also alleges that RHM has failed and refused to pay over $5 million due ZYNC, willfully infringed the ZYNC trademark, engaged in bullying, wrongfully retained joint venture assets, and continued to exploit these assets without compensation to or consent from ZYNC. The Complaint outlines numerous breaches of the parties’ agreement by Round Hill Music, including its failure to properly account to ZYNC, gross misstatement of income and expenses, and unwarranted withholding of payments due to ZYNC.
For over 20 years, ZYNC has built a globally respected, female-led music publishing, licensing, and representation agency, repping over 300 artists, employing 15 people, and procuring over $100 million in licensing deals for ZYNC clients. The company is well known across the entertainment industry for its innovation in third-party music licensing, creative prowess, and significant track record in fostering careers, bringing exposure and income to many frontline acts and emerging artists. ZYNC has also been a creative synch licensing arm for many successful independent music companies.
In 2017, RHM purchased ZYNC’s assets and entered into a joint tenancy agreement with ZYNC. Under the joint arrangement, with the ZYNC co-founders and co-CEOs Marisa Baldi and Sanne Hagelsten heading up the ZYNC and RHM combined synch team, RHM aimed to bolster its synch operations and capitalize on Zync’s reputation as curators of cutting-edge music. In 2019, Baldi also assumed the role of RHM’s Chief Creative Officer (CCO).
According to the eight-count Complaint, “This action is intended to redress RHM’s egregious and numerous breaches of its joint tenancy agreement with ZYNC, including RHM’s flagrant failure to properly or timely account to ZYNC thereunder, RHM’s gross misstatement of the joint tenancy’s income and expenses in the limited accountings that were provided, and RHM’s unwarranted and bad faith withholding of, and failure to pay, millions of dollars unequivocally due to ZYNC pursuant to the parties’ agreement, and to put a stop to the bullying and mistreatment perpetrated by RHM and its senior leadership against ZYNC.”
The Complaint alleges breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraudulent inducement, conversion, unjust enrichment, trademark infringement, and unfair competition. ZYNC also seeks an accounting to remedy RHM’s wrongful conversion and retention of revenue and assets, including the continued exploitation of joint venture assets and willful infringement of the ZYNC trademark.
A spokesperson for RHM released a statement to MBW: “Round Hill Music denies the allegations in the Complaint filed today by ZYNC Music Group. The dispute between Round Hill and ZYNC Music Group is a commercial dispute over the valuation of their joint venture partnership, which is going through a dissolution and subject to an appraisal process. The specious and salacious allegations of the Complaint are being used by ZYNC as a substitute for the failing merits of its case.”
CelebrityAccess has reached out to ZYNC and RHM for comment. Nothing has been received as of press time.
