Funk-metal band Incubus wants out of its contract with Sony

LOS ANGELES (AP) The rock band Incubus filed a lawsuit against Sony Corp., in an attempt to break free from its contract that requires the group to make four more albums with the record company.

Band members Michael Einziger, Brandon Boyd, Jose Pasillas and Alex Katunich filed the suit Thursday in Superior Court. The band is asking a judge to rule that California's labor law allows them to stop recording for Sony and get a new deal from another label.

Incubus joins a growing list of music acts such as Don Henley, Beck, Courtney Love and the Dixie Chicks who have demanded the freedom to negotiate less restrictive deals to capitalize on their success. In many of the cases to date, settlements have been reached between the artists and record companies.

Incubus, which has sold an estimated 7 million albums and earned worldwide acclaim for their most recent album ``Morning View,'' objects to Sony's common practice of deducting such costs as video production and packaging from the artists' cut, said band manager Steve Rennie.

``Under current standard industry practices, Sony Music has been handsomely rewarded financially during this period while the members of Incubus have received very little compensation from their creative and professional efforts,'' Rennie said. The core question, he added, is whether Incubus ``is entitled to share fairly in the fruits of their labor going forward.''

Sony responded to the lawsuit Thursday by issuing a statement saying, ``We have the highest regard for Incubus and their music and take great pride in the work we have done together to build a worldwide audience for them. Incubus is signed to an exclusive recording contract with Sony Music.''

The band wants the judge to exercise the state's so-called ``seven-year statute,'' which states that most entertainers cannot be tied to any company for more than seven years. But major record labels won a legal battle that allows them to collect damages from musicians who fail to deliver promised albums.

Incubus believes it has met all of its obligations, even though its contract with Sony says it must make four more albums. The band reaches its seven-year anniversary with Sony this summer.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)