Today is not the greatest day for the Smashing Pumpkins and Virgin Records.
The alt-rock legends have filed a lawsuit against their old record label, accusing Virgin of unlawfully using the Pumpkins' name in a promotional campaign for Pepsi Stuff, a new partnership between the soft-drink purveyor and Amazon.com.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday and obtained by E! News, claims the record giant breached its contract with the group by featuring the Pumpkins' name and tunes in various advertisements, thus jeopardizing their credibility with fans and compromising their "artistic integrity." (View the lawsuit.)
"In addition to the unauthorized exploitation of name and likeness, Virgin, without any authority to do so, permitted Amazon and Pepsi consumers with free, or at a greatly reduced price, digital copies of Plaintiff's musical works through Amazon's website, in exchange for the purchase of Pepsi products, or "Pepsi Stuff," states the complaint.
"[We] have worked hard for over two decades to accumulate a considerable amount of goodwill in the eyes of the public," the group says in court documents, noting that Virgin's actions "deceived and confused the public into believing that [the band is] affiliated with the promotion" or participating itself in the promotion.
The Chicago-based band alleges Virgin, which released Pumpkins' music for 17 years, only has the right to sell online downloads of tunes the band wrote and recorded while signed with the label. The complaint states that Virgin did not have permission to use the Pumpkins' name in unrelated promotional activities to hock unaffiliated products.
The Grammy-winning outfit's relationship with the label ended in 2000, when the band broke up due to inner-group squabbling.
The Pumpkins' bald-pated frontman and principal songwriter, Billy Corgan, reformed the band in 2005, tapping new members to replace original guitarist James Iha and bassist D'arcy Wretzsky, both of whom opted out of the reunion. The new lineup subsequently signed with Reprise Records, a unit of Warner Bros. Records.
In court papers, the Pumpkins insisted they would "never grant such authority to Virgin, or any other entity."
The suit seeks a permanent injunction barring the Pumpkins' name from being used in further promos as well as compensatory damages—in the form of all profits from the Pepsi tie-in.
Reps for the quartet and Virgin declined to comment.
After wrapping up shows in New Zealand, the Pumpkins are slated to kick off a tour of Australia beginning Thursday in Sydney before heading across the Pacific for a string of dates in Mexico and Costa Rica in April.
Corgan & Co. are supporting last year's album, Zeitgeist, the band's first in seven years, as well as the new acoustic EP, American Gothic, now in stores.