A growing number of video game composers are accusing music label and publisher Materia Collective of failing to pay royalties for songs and streaming dating back nearly two years.

Materia, best known for its work on tribute albums for Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, took over publishing duties for the Celeste soundtrack in July 2019 after composer Lena Raine gave up distribution rights to work on other projects. She took over. Last week, however, contributing artist 2Melo claimed on Twitter that he had not received compensation for his work on Celeste's B-side tracks, and that "at least" three other musicians on the album, which includes remixes of the game's original soundtrack and is priced at $5, "have been paid for their work." He stated that "at least" three other musicians had also not been paid since that date.

In the hours that followed, other composers also spoke out against Materia: Laura Intravia, who worked on the soundtracks for Destiny 2 and Mortal Kombat 11, claimed that she has been 13 months behind in payments from the label, and ZED composer Alex Parrish says he has not heard from Materia since the album was released in July 2019.

"I am aware that five of the seven artists involved in the B-Sides album are in the exact same situation as I am," Melo told PCG via DM over the weekend.

"I saw eight other accounts yesterday, and there were more who claimed to have worked at Materia and in that time saw their payment system in bad shape or heard that many artists were not getting paid. So at least 10 more artists have been affected. 9]

Following an early apology to Melo and the B-side artists, the label then responded to the broader claims. Emails sent to artists further explained the situation, informing them that the internal "Materia Dashboard" was no longer up to the task of tracking royalty payments and that all artists should be fully compensated by mid-February. The minimum payment threshold has also been lowered so that everyone will be paid regardless of the amount owed.

Yesterday, Materia repeated this message in a separate official statement.

The label says it will put everything else on hold until this issue is resolved. In the meantime, Materiaは問題を抱える他のアーティストに[email protected]. But even if Materia resolves the royalty situation, the reputational damage may linger.

"I am disgusted that Materia has allowed itself to neglect its single greatest responsibility as a music label for so long, relying on the silence of its artists as a cover for such internal mismanagement," Melo adds.

"I'm very saddened by this, because with more communication, the relationship between artists and labels could have continued and we could have supported them.

In an email to PC Gamer, a Materia spokesperson reiterated the label's intention to pay all compensation by mid-February, adding: "Additionally, Materia is investing in new work management processes and technology to ensure this never happens again. employing adequate support.

This article was updated with comments from the Materia Collective.