Linkin Park is one step closer to splitting from its record label.

The rap-rockers on Monday demanded to be released from its record contract with Warner Music Group, claiming the company's impending initial public offering is enriching investors at the expense of label artists.

"We feel a responsibility to get great music to our fans," Linkin Park said in a statement released through its management at the Firm. "Unfortunately, we believe that we can't accomplish that effectively with the current Warner Music."

The SoCal group, known for such hard-charging alt-rock anthems as "Crawling," "One Step Closer" and "Somewhere I Belong," accuses Warner Music of giving the shaft to its artist roster by failing to fork over more money.

Despite having a four-album commitment left to go on its current contract, Linkin Park said it was willing to play hardball and hold off on any new releases for Warner Music. The band's next album was due in 2006.

The label, meanwhile, claims Linkin is making a big stink purely as a gambit for a bigger deal.

"We value our relationship with Linkin Park, and we are proud of our work together since signing the bands," the company said in its own statement. "While Linkin Park's talent is without question, the band's management is using fictitious numbers and making baseless charges and inflammatory threats in what is clearly a negotiating tactic.

"Warner Bros. Records has made significant investments in Linkin Park, and they have always been compensated generously for their outstanding worldwide success."

The band, which inked with Warner Music in 1999, has sold more than 35 million albums worldwide, led by the multiplatinum smashes Hybrid Theory and Meteora. The band's latest effort, the Jay-Z collaboration Collision Course, has moved 1.6 million copies since its release last November.

The public griping coincides with Warner Music pending IPO. The label, spun off last year from Time Warner, was snapped up for $2.6 billion last year by a consortium of private equity firms led by media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr.

"The new owners of the Warner Music Group will be reaping a windfall of $1.4 billion from their $2.6 billion purchase a mere 18 months ago if their planned IPO moves forward," the band's statement continued. "Linkin Park, their biggest act, will get nothing."

The Firm claims Linkin Park albums have accounted for 10 percent of Warners sales since 2000. However, the label is accusing the band of some fuzzy math and the aforementioned "fictitious numbers." Citing data from industry tracker Nielsen SoundScan, Warner Music says the actual figure is closer to 3 percent.

Sources at the label contend the Grammy-winning band is seeking a sweetheart deal on the order of a $50 million-$60 million advance and a 50-50 profit split. The band has been offered a $15 million advance to cover its next five albums.

So far there has been no mention of any legal action. Some top-tier acts, including Prince, Incubus, Courtney Love and the Dixie Chicks, have pulled the lawsuit card to rework their deals, while others, like Don Henley, Luther Vandross, Beck and Metallica, merely threatened litigation to work out more lucrative contracts.

Splits, financial or otherwise, are the rage these days with the Park.

Linkin frontman Chester Bennington is divorcing his wife of nine years, Samantha. Per court documents obtained by Celebrity Justice, the couple is seeking joint custody of their three-year-old son, Draven.

The Benningtons say the split is amicable and blame the demise of the marriage on "irreconcilable differences."

With Linkin Park projected to produce hundreds of million of dollars in future sales, Warner Music better hope its differences with the band are of the reconcilable variety.