The glam-rock band Poison is hardly the first musical act to claim it was cheated by its record label, but it is the latest to sue over such a claim. Members of Poison charge in a lawsuit against Capitol Records and EMI Music Marketing that they don’t even know how much money they have been cheated out of because Capitol wouldn’t cooperate in an attempt by the band to have its records audited.
To no one’s surprise, NAB has jumped on the lawsuit to press its case that congress should be looking into how artists have been treated by their record companies, rather than enacting a performance tax on radio stations. “The lawsuit from Poison exposes the blatant hypocrisy of the record labels’ professing ‘concern’ for musical artists. From Bo Diddley to Prince to Poison, the record labels have shamefully abused and exploited musicians. NAB encourages Congress to contrast such shabby treatment by RIAA member companies with the untold millions in revenue generated for musicians through free radio airplay by America’s hometown radio stations,” said NAB Executive Vice President of Media Relations Dennis Wharton.
