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Yoko Imagines EMI Suit
Nobody told Yoko Ono there'd be days like these.
The widow of former Beatle John Lennon has slapped a $10 million lawsuit on EMI and its U.S. subsidiary, Capitol Records, accusing the two music companies of using sneaky accounting tricks to bilk her out of royalties from her late husband's music sales.
The suit, filed Wednesday in New York's state Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleges that EMI and Capitol breached more than a half-dozen recording contracts by "willfully and knowingly underreporting royalties."
The three-page complaint, which contains a summons and notice but does not go into great detail, alleges the companies thought they could shortchange the 73-year-old Ono, who oversees Lennon's estate, by concealing the "true use and disposition of Lennon's recordings."
But the crux of her complaint charges EMI and Capitol with "intentionally and systematically rendering dishonest and grossly deficient account statements." In other words, she claims the record companies cooked the books to avoid bigger payouts.
Adam Grossberg, a spokesman for EMI, declined to address Ono's suit specifically, but said it's not unusual for artists to request audits on commissions owed them by the label and for accounting disputes to arise because of "differences of opinion" in the way both parties interpret what are often complex agreements.
"We strive for full financial transparency with artists," Grossberg told E! Online, adding that "99 times out of 100, these things are resolved amicably."
In addition to the $10 million, Ono's suit also seeks interest and various fees. Her attorney, John LiCalsi, refused to comment on the litigation.
The suit comes on the heels of a related complaint brought against EMI last December by Apple Corps, the company jointly owned by the Beatles, seeking $50 million for nonpayment of royalties. Apple said it was forced to take the legal action after an audit determined the U.K.-based record giant had not been living up to its obligations, despite "clear provisions." The Beatles' company also demanded ownership and control of the band's master recordings.
EMI, which had tangled with Apple over royalty issues throughout the 1980s before reaching an out-of-court settlement in 1989, chalked up the problem to the usual "differences of opinion" and sought to have the suit dismissed, but a New York Supreme Court Justice refused to do so in August. The case is currently on appeal.
The Beatles typically generate between $70 million and $100 million in total revenue a year. According to Forbes' 2005 list of top-earning dead celebrities, Lennon's estate raked in $22 million in 2004.
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