Musicians Claim Label Duping Them Out Of iTunes Royalties

Well, this is not the first time that this kind of dispute has happened. Apparently two musical groups –  the Allman Brothers Band (left pic) and Cheap Trick (right pic) claim that their label, Sony Music, is duping them with their iTunes royalty. The bands added that instead of getting 30 cents, they are only getting 4.50 cents, an amount way below the agreed royalty fees.

The people at the label claim that this is largely a contractual argument – with it being unclear what category in the contract an iTunes download falls under. Although this is nothing new, what could make this latest dispute stand out is if the bands prevail – prompting more musicians to come forward and dispute their royalty earnings, which is of course bad news for record labels. Wherever the wind blows, this latest royalty brouhaha is simply an evidence that the recording industry’s and the musicians’ interests are quite often not towards one direction.

Well, this is not the first time that this kind of dispute has happened. Apparently two musical groups –  the Allman Brothers Band (left pic) and Cheap Trick (right pic) claim that their label, Sony Music, is duping them with their iTunes royalty. The bands added that instead of getting 30 cents, they are only getting 4.50 cents, an amount way below the agreed royalty fees.

The people at the label claim that this is largely a contractual argument – with it being unclear what category in the contract an iTunes download falls under. Although this is nothing new, what could make this latest dispute stand out is if the bands prevail – prompting more musicians to come forward and dispute their royalty earnings, which is of course bad news for record labels. Wherever the wind blows, this latest royalty brouhaha is simply an evidence that the recording industry’s and the musicians’ interests are quite often not towards one direction.