3tone music company allegedly owes artists and ex-staff thousands

Yasin El Ashrafi said if 3tone had been honest "when things first went wrong" he would have understood

An independent music company is facing numerous allegations of unpaid royalties.

It is claimed Bristol-based 3tone owes tens of thousands of pounds to artists around the UK.

Musicians, music managers, staff and former staff spoke to the BBC following the allegations first broken by Complete Music Update.

The BBC has contacted 3tone several times and written to its CEO Dean Roberts, but had no response.

Yasin El Ashrafi said "it has been a nightmare" trying to recoup the almost £13,000 he is owed in royalties.

3tone offers services including distribution, marketing and publishing of music and it also represents artists as a record label.

Dr El Ashrafi, managing director of Leicester-based record label HQ Familia, explained one of his artists had a song reach millions of streams, making it the first time they had made "decent money".

He described it as "a bit of a kick in the teeth" that they had not received the money, leaving him personally owing his artists and producers thousands of pounds for months.

James Humphrys said £1,000 is a lot of money for a small independent artist

Musician Troi Irons said he was flown over from Los Angeles to Bristol in 2022 with promises of hefty support to complete an album, including a booking agent, management, accommodation, monthly wages and funding towards his music. However, these promises did not fully materialise and the album was never completed.

The package that was agreed by 3tone also included a salary of £30,000, but he told the BBC: "I never once received payroll."

Mr Irons said he had a limited amount of expenses reimbursed via receipts.

He was also contacted by musicians who were employed to play on his album, but were never paid and told him they were taking legal action against 3tone.

Mr Irons said he lost the accommodation 3tone provided as they were evicted from the premises and he is asking for donations to help ship his belongings back to the US.

Troi Irons believes 3tone's CEO Dean Roberts does not have the connections he claimed to have when they first met

Dr El Ashrafi said he did receive around £5,000 at the end of September, with promises the rest was on its way "next week", but it has not arrived.

"It's just a bit worrying, we don't know if we're ever going to see this money or not," he said.

'Lost sleep'

He added: "It's been a nightmare. It's bad enough that I'm personally down quite a lot of money.

"And to know I'm not in the financial position to fulfil what the other people were expecting, it's a stressful situation. I've lost a bit of sleep over it."

The Musicians' Union advises any artists who are concerned they are owed royalties from any company to get in touch and they will advise the next steps they should take.

There are numerous allegations against Bristol music company 3tone

Three former 3tone employees have gone through successful employment tribunals for money unfairly deducted from their wages and unpaid wages, but it is believed they are yet to be paid.

Many clients and staff were drawn in by 3tone's announcement of a £50m investment in October 2022, however, former employees and artists said this money was never received.

Bristol-based musician James Humphrys said he was owed more than £1,000 by 3tone, which had caused "a lot of stress".

Mr Humphrys was approached by a 3tone employee during Covid, with promises the distribution arm of the company would offer perks such as being able to pitch to Spotify.

But he could not see any "real difference" to how his previous distributor worked.

He then got offered a marketing campaign costing £900.

"Really all it was in hindsight was Zoom calls and them telling me to make TikTok videos," he explained.

'Feel like an idiot'

He said the company still had £600 of his money in what they call 'TikTok credit'.

He is also owed two years worth of royalties, which amounts to more than £500, but has had no response to his enquiries.

"It's so frustrating, but I don't have the time and energy [to sort it out]. It makes you feel like an idiot.

"You expect to be potentially done over some of the big dogs later down the line in the industry, but not by one of the small ones in Bristol," he added.

Dr El Ashrafi said his dealings with 3tone had been his "worst experience" in the music industry

The Association of Independent Music (AIM) said the reports "paint a worrying picture of 3tone's situation".

AIM's COO and head of legal & business affairs, Gee Davy, said: "I very much hope that 3tone are in a better position than reported and urge them to communicate with all involved and make any payments necessary without delay."

She added: "All labels and artists need to know they can place their trust in their distribution partners to operate with best practice and, in the main, that trust is justified."

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