MANHATTAN (CN) - Greg Allman and three other members of the Allman Brothers Band demand $13 million from UMG Recordings. They claim the record label cheated them on royalties for digital downloads refuses to renegotiate royalties for recordings.
The band describes "UMG's theft of Plaintiffs' royalties and failure to live up to its contractual obligations" as "outrageous."
UMG acquired rights to the Allman Brothers recordings from Polygram, which got the rights in 1985 from the band and its first label, Capricorn, which recorded the Allman Brothers from 1969 through 1980, according to the federal complaint.
The band says their contracts specify that the band gets 50% of UMG's net receipts from any commercial reuse of the Capricorn masters. They claim that UMG violated contract by licensing the Capricorn masters to third parties, such as Apple Inc. for its iTunes music service, and refusing to pay the correct royalties for it.
The band is represented by Paul Fakler with Moses & Singer.
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