Triller paid out a total of 14 million dollars in cash and equity to Black creators. Helping the lesser-known short-form video app to compete with TikTok was a smart move. According to The Washington Post, most of these creators were not paid at all. They said that some creators ended up in financial turmoil because they didn't live up to their promises.
According to the lawsuit, Triller's late and missing payments went beyond its creator program. Verzuz was acquired by Triller in March of 2021. The two artists became shareholders in the company and allocated part of their equity to over 40 performers who had appeared on Verzuz.
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz claim that Triller owes them millions of dollars.
According to the lawsuit obtained by The Washington Post, Triller missed a big payment to the two artists in January and agreed to pay them $18 million by March 20 and $1 million per month for the next 10 months. According to the lawsuit, Triller hasn't made any of the payments. There is only one $10 million payment that is in question.
The company has had a rocky road to IPO as it has been accused of failing to pay its partners. Triller was going to go public via a reverse merger with SeaChange International, which would have valued the company at $5 billion. Triller went public in June after canceling its merger. The company lost more than $700 million last year.
The lawsuit was addressed in an email by Triller.
This is not a feud over VERZUZ, but simply about earn-out payments to Swizz and Tim. Swizz and Tim have personally been paid by Triller over $50 million in cash and stock to-date, and they stand to benefit even more over time. In addition, they have annual obligations, which if met, and no breach has occurred, entitles them to additional payments. Only one payment of $10 million is in question. We do not believe they have met the thresholds for that payment yet, which include, but are not limited to, delivery of a set number of VERZUZ events for 2022. We have been trying to resolve this amicably and this does not affect VERZUZ operations or Triller’s ownership of VERZUZ. If this does proceed in court, we look forward to a judgment that weighs all the facts.
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