Content area
Full Text
Just as actress Olivia de Havilland brought down the Hollywood studio system in the 1950s and outfielder Curt Flood fought for free agency in baseball in the 1970s, rock star Courtney Love is determined to radically redefine the nature of the music recording business for the next century.
Love is seeking to break her contract with Vivendi Universal, the world's largest record conglomerate, and expose what she calls the "unconscionable and unlawful" business tactics of the major record labels.
The case threatens to throw back the curtain on what Love and others allege are the industry's corrupt accounting practices, designed to hide profits and cheat artists out of royalty payments.
Vivendi Universal officials declined to speak about the suit but in their legal papers dismissed Love's suit as a "meritless, inflammatory diatribe" designed to "attract media attention." Universal has sued Love seeking damages for five undelivered albums. The company describe the contract as a "fair, industry-standard agreement" that she "willingly" signed.
Universal and other labels contend that they invest a lot in developing and marketing artists, and that long-term contracts are the only means they have of recouping those expenses.
Should Love prevail in court, the case could rewrite the economics of the recorded music industry and lead to a wholesale exodus of recording acts from their labels--breaking the major music companies' decades-long lock on talent.
"If Courtney Love prevails, this case will nail the lid shut on the coffin of the standard long-term recording contract. It could change the business," said attorney Don Engel, who has represented such acts as Donna Summer and Don Henley in past contract disputes.
"It is difficult to challenge a giant music company and go up against traditional industry practices, but there is no reason why Courtney can't win this case," said attorney Yale Lewis, who successfully represented the father of Jimi Hendrix in a case to reclaim the rock star's catalog from MCA Records. "If this goes to trial, it will be a jury that decides the facts. Not the industry."
Long-Term Contracts Are Focus of Lawsuit
At its core, the suit is about the recording industry's tradition of long-term contracts that keep artists tied up for years longer than is legal in other industries, including television,...