Musicians sue Universal over royalties
Last Updated: Friday, February 15, 2008 | 3:48 PM ET
CBC News
More than a dozen recording artists, including the estates of jazz legends Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan and Benny Goodman, have launched a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, accusing the music giant of withholding royalties.
The lawsuit, filed late Thursday at the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, accuses Universal of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
The suit alleges that the company "pervasively and systematically breached" agreements with the musicians by using false accounting to conceal their true earnings dating back to at least 1998.
The musicians are seeking at least $6.07 million US, plus unspecified punitive damages and legal fees.
Les Brown, Dick Hyman, Patti Page and Jerry Murad are among the other musicians included in the lawsuit.
Universal, which is the world's largest music label and is owned by France's Vivendi, has denied the allegations, according to Reuters.
"We believe that these claims are baseless, and we are confident that we will prevail in court," the company said in a statement.
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
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