Poison Files Toxic Accounting Claim vs. Capitol Records

Posted by Eriq Gardner

Every rose has its thorn.

In the late 1980s, Poison shot to fame with a blend of glam metal and sugarsweet balladry. A hot commodity at the time, the band signed a record contract in 1986 with Enigma Records, which was later bought by Capitol Records, owned by the EMI Group. The contract provided the record label with Poison's recording services for an initial period and four option periods.

But every night has its dawn.

After charting twelve singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, the band faded after 1993, though it continued to perform, record, and saturate VH1 with guest appearances and Bret Michaels' "Rock of Love" show.

Every cowboy sings his sad, sad song.

Now, alas, Poison is suing Capitol and EMI, claiming that the label is violating its recording contract by refusing to allow a full audit inspection of its books, plus underpaying the band. According to this complaint, Capitol has incorrectly calculated certain producer royalties, miscategorized certain record sales as budget or mid-price sales, made wrongful deductions, failed to account for certain domestic licensing income, and failed to account and pay royalties on compilation albums.

The band, represented by Mark Passin and Jonathan Stern at Dreier in Santa Monica, is suing for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. They want an accounting and gain further damages to be proven at trial.