Blondie Slaps EMI With Lawsuit

11/24/1999 6:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(11/24/99, 6 p.m. ET) - Blondie filed suit against its former label, EMI Records, for breach of contract today (Nov. 24) in New York, calling parts of their former record deal "inherently unfair." The New Wave icons allege that EMI refused to honor its obligations under a 1996 recording agreement that guaranteed the band a new royalty structure for the catalog of Blondie songs the label and its predecessor, Chrysalis Records, released between 1977 and 1982.

The suit does not specify any amount for damages; however, the numbers could be substantial--Blondie has sold more than 25 million albums during its 16 years hitched to EMI. "The reality of what musical artists actually earn for their work is extremely disheartening," Blondie lead singer Deborah Harry said in a prepared statement. "An artist's creative work is repeatedly repackaged and marketed, and the artist rarely sees increased income. In our situation, we would at least like to see EMI live up to its own promise, to finally allow some of the increased revenues to flow through to the artist." Calls to EMI were not returned by press time.

Blondie now records for Beyond Records, which is distributed by BMG. The band's latest album, Blondie: Live, was released on Tuesday (Nov. 23).

To read a Blondie feature, click here.

-- Neal Weiss, Los Angeles

Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to newstips@launch.com.