Cher sues Universal for $5 million

Linda · **Posted:** Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:56 pm

http://www.nme.com/news/cher/45087

Cher sues record label for $5 million

Jun 3, 2009

Cher has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group for allegedly failing to pay her royalties from two compilation albums from 2000 to 2003.

The singer says that the label failed to pay her and former husband Sonny Bono’s children royalties and "engaged in wrongful tactics" to avoid making the payments.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday (June 2) in Los Angeles, and says the label was in breach of two recording contracts by trying to conceal the amount of money made by the sales of the record entitled ‘Cher The Greatest Hits’ and ‘The Very Best of Cher’.

"The claims are meritless, and we are confident that we will prevail in court," Universal Music Group spokesperson Peter Lofrumento told the Hollywood Reporter.

Uncle Twitchy · **Joined:** 28 Nov 2006 **Posts:** 30520

Did she consider that there may not even be any royalties?

Jimbo · 19 Jul 2006

Well, I got those two CDs, so there should be some royalties.

Beachy · 18 Sep 2005

Are there royalties if no profit was made?

Now, I'm not saying that there wasn't. I would imagine that Cher compilations
would do okay.

Jon Tyler · 24 Sep 2006

This is purely speculation on my part; but it almost seems like, in order to be able to examine a record company's books, an artist HAS to sue them. Most artists probably can't afford to pay what it costs to hire lawyers and accountants to examine the books, so the record companies get away with sending whatever royalties they claim are owed to the artists.

I've often wondered how anyone is sure that record companies don't just press up a bunch of extra copies of a disc (without accounting for them) and sell them "off the books." The way their accounting seems to work (and the ethics they have demonstrated in so many of their business practices,) it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to do or unlikely that they would do things like that.

Nathan_86 · 15 Jun 2007

Beachy wrote:

Are there royalties if no profit was made?

Now, I'm not saying that there wasn't. I would imagine that Cher compilations
would do okay.

I think they'd do OK as well, but $5 million in royalties?

ranasakawa · 26 Jan 2007

Jimbo wrote:

Well, I got those two CDs, so there should be some royalties.

Well she is owed $2 then, not $2,000,000

Steve · 21 Oct 2004

I think Universal should sue Cher for "Do You Believe".

Kid Bailey · 16 Jul 2006

ranasakawa wrote:

Jimbo wrote:

Well, I got those two CDs, so there should be some royalties.

Well she is owed $2 then, not $2,000,000

I think, in all good conscience, Jimbo should send the $2.00 directly to Cher. I bought the Cher:Gold comp for my wife, but as this is not mentioned I assume she received the proper royalties, and is due no more money from me.

Jimbo · 19 Jul 2006

Next time I bump into Cher, I'll give her the two bucks. :-D

JohnG · 03 Aug 2006

If I see her in Vegas at the Flamingo, I'll buy her lunch.

Cher sues Universal for $5 million

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