The two
veteran rock bands sued their label Sony Music, charging the music giant
with not paying them the required percentage of net licensing revenue it
receives from Apple's iTunes and other digital-download stores. "Sony Music is
presently engaged in a widespread attempt to underpay its recording artists,"
attorney Brian Caplan said in a statement. "With the technological advancements
in the music industry, where many people download songs to their iPods and other
portable devices, it is essential that artists receive the royalty income to
which they are entitled."
The class-action lawsuit claims that the
artists' contracts require Sony to pay its artists about 30 cents out of every
70 cents it gets for digital downloads--out of a total of 99 cents that iTunes
charges per song. But the complaint maintains that Sony is only paying artists
4.5 cents for each song.