Pink Floyd suing EMI over Royalties

[Keith Jordan]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009 ... -royalties



Pink Floyd, the band behind Dark Side of the Moon, one of the best-selling albums in music history, have filed a lawsuit against EMI, claiming the private equity-backed firm has miscalculated royalty payments.

The unprecedented legal claim is a glimpse at the fraught relationship between EMI, under the ownership of Guy Hands's Terra Firma, and some of the label's leading acts. The new owner's arrival in 2007 was blamed for the departure of acts such as Radiohead and Paul McCartney.

Terra Firma acquired stock market-listed EMI for just over £4bn, saddling it with £2.5bn of debt in the process. Hands, who became chairman, quickly moved to cut costs.

Industry insiders suggest the legal action is likely to have flared up amid routine three-yearly negotiations over royalty payments.

Pink Floyd, who signed with EMI in 1967, have been one of EMI's most lucrative signings. In the last 25 years their back catalogue has only been outsold by that of the Beatles.

EMI and Pink Floyd declined to comment.

[drafsack]

looks like Polly wants a new fur coat

[PinkFloyd69]

or Nick needs a new Ferrari

[Hudini]

Or Roger needs a new set of teeth.

[Freddie Mercury]

Hopefully Clare Torry is getting something out of this

[Hogtown]

Oh great, another legal dispute, just as I was getting strong vibes from the universe that the 5.1 WYWH was going to come out for Christmas along with BBC sessions...

[Keith Jordan]

They should sue and teach Terra Firma a lesson for destroying EMI.

[wiped]

They should sue and teach Terra Firma a lesson for destroying EMI.

Agreed ... the should sue on the grounds of CEO incompetence and use this article are conclusive proof :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2291605.stm.

Case closed.

[drafsack]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009 ... -royalties

Terra Firma acquired stock market-listed EMI for just over £4bn, saddling it with £2.5bn of debt in the process.

It amazes me that someone can buy enough shares in a company to become a majority share holder and then saddle that company with cost of buying itself. Although matey boy paid 4 billion for the company he only parted company with 1.5 billion as EMI have been saddled with the other 2.5 billion. The bloke who bought Man Untied did exactly the same

[notpink]

looks like Polly wants a new fur coat

I tell from past posts that she isn't your favorite person, I dunno if she's mine either but I'm not gonna hate on her, if Dave wants to inlcude her a bit in some of the highlights than it's his perogative and I'm fine with it, ( no yoko here) besides I bet they might be vegan's since Dave performed at a peta event, well like that means anything nowadays.

[snifferdog]

Interesting times. I wonder will this make it all the way to the courts or will it be settled before that. The people running EMI these days sound like they couldn't organise a booze-up in a brewery.

[tcoursen]

Maybe this could end up being good for the fans. If they are looking to work out a deal, maybe as part of that deal EMI says ok we will pay you, but you gotta give us something in return. Maybe EMI says the only way we can pay you more is to give you a bigger cut of a new release. So the fans get something like a BBC sessions release, and Pink Floyd gets a bigger cut of the money of the release than they normally would from EMI. Everybody happy.

[arn0ld]

Not a surprise... The Beatles have had to sue every three years for the last 3 decades..

The Company employs lawyers to find ways of NOT paying artists royalties so they can
award themselves big Bonuses.. Its the same as in Banking... The Floyd are lucky they can afford
to Sue... most acts are routinely shafted... Go for it Floyd stick it to Hands and his Henchmen
they are glorified assets stripper plain and simple... living off the copyrights of hundred of
disenfranchised artists and composers.

In the words of my old Mate

JC

I aint Workin for the Man No More