RECORDING INDUSTRY'S CHICKEN COMES HOME TO ROOST AS MUSICIANS SUE FOR LOST ROYALTIES

REUTERS - More than a dozen recording artists, including the estates of Count Basie and Benny Goodman, sued Universal Music on Friday, saying they had been cheated out of more than $6 million in royalties since 1998.

The artists, many of whom signed with recording companies that were later bought by Universal, sued the world's largest music label for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty in a lawsuit filed in New York State Court. . .

The lawsuit alleges that Universal, which is required to submit at least biannual reports of sales and earnings for each artist, provided false information throughout the accounting period of May 1999 through February 2007. . .

Other artists included in the lawsuit, either individually or through their estates, were Les Brown, Richard Hayman, Dick Hyman, Woody Herman, Kitty Kallen, Frankie Laine, Tony Martin, John Mills, Jerry Murad, Patti Page, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Sarah Vaughn.