Yoko Ono has filed a lawsuit against Capitol Records, accusing them of cheating her out of royalties which, she says, belong to John Lennon's estate.
Capitol - part of the EMI group - claimed that the matter could simply be a "difference of opinion". The matter concerns a number of Lennon's solo albums. Ono is said to be asking for $10 million plus interest.Ono's lawsuit alleges Capitol, "breached these agreements and have abused the nearly half-century-old relationship of trust and confidence by willfully and knowingly underreporting royalties."
A spokesman for EMI/Capitol, Adam Grossberg, said, "Artists do request from time to time audits of their record label accounts. It is not unusual and we have no problem with it."
He went on to point out that "sometimes there are differences of opinion. Contracts are very complex and in rare situations it is up to the courts or mediation to resolve. But 99 times out of 100 these audits are resolved in an amicable settlement."
