Audiochuck Lawsuit: Anatomy of Murder Hosts’ Agency Fee Claims

The Audiochuck lawsuit was filed in November 2025 by the creators of the true-crime podcast Anatomy of Murder, who accused the Indianapolis-based podcast network of shortchanging them on millions of dollars in advertising revenue tied to its exclusive deal with SiriusXM. Hosts Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger, through their production companies Forseti Media and Weinberger Media, brought claims for breach of contract, concealment of deal terms, and misappropriation of shared funds. The federal case was voluntarily dismissed in January 2026 and refiled in New York State court, where it is heading toward discovery.

What the Hosts Are Claiming

The complaint was filed on November 13, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, initially under seal and made public the following week.¹²

At its center is a breach of contract claim. Nicolazzi and Weinberger entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with Audiochuck in April 2020: they would create the podcast, and Audiochuck would handle distribution, marketing, and advertising sales in exchange for a percentage split.² The plaintiffs allege Audiochuck failed to pay them their rightful share of revenue generated under the company’s 2021 exclusive advertising deal with SiriusXM, a multi-year arrangement giving SiriusXM’s sales arm exclusive global ad sales rights across all Audiochuck podcasts.³ A companion claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing alleges Audiochuck deliberately withheld information about how it renegotiated the SiriusXM agreement and how that would affect the hosts’ earnings.¹

The plaintiffs are seeking damages exceeding $20 million. That figure comes from reports that the overall Audiochuck-SiriusXM deal was worth between $100 million and $200 million; the hosts argue that if Anatomy of Murder accounted for roughly 10% of the network’s value, their proportional share should have been around $20 million.⁴⁵

The Revenue Drop That Started the Fight

The complaint traces the dispute to a sharp and unexplained decline that began the moment the SiriusXM deal took effect. In December 2021, the last full month before SiriusXM took over ad sales, the podcast’s proportional share of ad revenue was $73,579. In January 2022, the first month under SiriusXM, that number fell to $24,963. February came in at $37,516. According to the plaintiffs, download and impression numbers for the show stayed stable through the drop.¹⁵

When the hosts raised the issue, the lawsuit alleges, Audiochuck structured later payments as “advances” recoupable from future SiriusXM earnings rather than addressing the underlying shortfall.¹

The Hidden Agency Fees

One of the more pointed allegations concerns talent agency fees the hosts say Audiochuck was deducting from shared advertising revenue. The contract did not permit those deductions, according to the complaint; agency fees were supposed to come out of Audiochuck’s own portion, not the split.⁵

The plaintiffs allege they only found out when an Audiochuck employee accidentally displayed an internal spreadsheet on a video call. Confronted with it, the company reportedly conceded the practice and agreed to repay the improperly deducted funds as part of a new deal. The hosts said the incident eroded trust in the partnership.⁶⁵

The 2024 Renegotiation the Hosts Say Was Tainted

The original contract was set to expire in October 2024. The parties renegotiated, extending the deal through the end of 2025 on terms that gave the hosts a higher revenue-share percentage and forgiveness of the prior advances. Audiochuck retained ownership of the Anatomy of Murder intellectual property.²

What the hosts didn’t know, the complaint alleges, was that Audiochuck was simultaneously renegotiating its own deal with SiriusXM. The restructured SiriusXM agreement took effect January 1, 2025, and reduced the gross revenue Audiochuck received. The hosts allege their payments dropped again, effectively wiping out the improved terms they had just negotiated.¹

In an April 2025 email cited in the complaint, Audiochuck’s chief operating officer reportedly attributed the downturn to the SiriusXM restructuring. The plaintiffs say Audiochuck deliberately concealed that restructuring during the October 2024 negotiations. The complaint also alleges SiriusXM had been airing ads on Anatomy of Murder for free in a way that violated specific terms of the Audiochuck-SiriusXM agreement, while Audiochuck’s flagship show, Crime Junkie, was not subject to the same treatment.⁵

Audiochuck’s Response

Audiochuck issued a brief statement: “We vigorously refute the claims made by the plaintiffs in the filing. We will defend ourselves in court. Beyond that, we do not comment on ongoing legal disputes.”² As of mid-2026, the company has not publicly elaborated on its defense or filed counterclaims.

Where the Case Stands

The federal case never reached a substantive stage. After Audiochuck’s attorneys filed notices of appearance and the parties agreed to extend the response deadline, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the federal action on January 29, 2026, without prejudice.⁷

In February 2026, the hosts refiled in New York State court. According to Variety, the venue shift followed the disclosure that United Talent Agency, which has a New York office, is an investor in Audiochuck. The case was expected to enter discovery in the summer of 2026.⁸

What Happened to the Podcast

Nicolazzi and Weinberger severed ties with Audiochuck at the end of 2025, ending Anatomy of Murder after more than 250 episodes and over 200 million total downloads. Nicolazzi has said the decision to go independent predated the lawsuit: “We decided pre-lawsuit that it’s important for us to own the thing we create and that we would be going independent.”⁸

The two launched a new weekly true-crime podcast, Homicide 360, on May 26, 2026, produced independently through Forseti Media and Weinberger Media and distributed with Daylight Media. It is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.⁸⁹

1
Variety. Anatomy of Murder Podcast Lawsuit Against Ashley Flowers’ Audiochuck
2
The Indiana Lawyer. Indianapolis-Based Audiochuck Facing Lawsuit From Podcast Creator
3
SiriusXM Investor Relations. SiriusXM Signs Exclusive Multi-Year Agreement With Crime Junkie Podcast Network Audiochuck
4
Podcast News Daily. Anatomy of Murder Hosts Sue Audiochuck Alleging Millions Owed From SiriusXM Ad Deal
5
The Hollywood Reporter. Audiochuck Sued by Anatomy of Murder Hosts
6
FOX59. Audiochuck Sued by Anatomy of Murder Hosts
7
PACER Monitor. Forseti Media, Inc. et al v. Audio Chuck LLC
8
Variety. Anatomy of Murder Creators Launch Podcast Homicide 360 Amid Audiochuck Lawsuit
9
Podnews. Homicide 360 Press Release