Beatles Start Another Royalty Battle

The surviving members of The Beatles are going back to court to fight another royalty battle with EMI and Capitol Records, this time claiming the record companies used fraudulent schemes to pocket “millions of dollars” of the band’s money.

Royalty disputes between The Beatles and EMI and Capitol date back more than 25 years. They started in 1979, when the band claimed it had been underpaid by more than £10.5 million (US$20 million).

That case took 10 years and ended with the band’s Apple company getting increased royalty rates.

The latest legal scrap was under way at the New York State Supreme Court August 23rd, when Justice Karla Moskowitz denied EMI’s request that a suit for fraud and breach of contract be thrown out.

The act is also seeking to reclaim rights to all of its master recordings.