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Ex-Dead Kennedys' Battle Over Royalties May End Up In Court
Members of defunct punk act announce split with label owned by singer Jello Biafra.
By Chris Nelson
Music News of the World
The former members of Dead Kennedys are alive and at each other's throats.
Nearly two decades after they stormed the punk scene, members of the defunct group,
one of the most visible and controversial bands of the early '80s, are squabbling over
royalties, and the conflict may land them in court.
At the center of the dispute are claims by some bandmembers that the record label
Alternative Tentacles -- which is owned by ex-Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra -- has
underpaid them royalties. Now, other members say they want to take the Kennedys'
catalog to another label.
"We are sad that we had to take this action but we are still willing to work things out,"
ex-Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray said in a statement addressing the band's
decision to split from the label.
Meanwhile, Biafra said he and lawyers for Alternative Tentacles are planning to make
one final offer to appease bandmates who want to split from the imprint. If they decline to
accept, Biafra said he has no choice but to take his former musical partners to court.
Ray, bassist Klaus Fluoride and drummer D.H. Peligro announced in their statement this past
Thursday that they had taken a vote and decided to move the Kennedys' six-album
catalog to another label. The bandmembers charged that, for the past 10 years,
Alternative Tentacles had paid them a lesser royalty rate than given to other groups on
the label.
Although royalty underpayment claims have been presented to Alternative Tentacles
Records, no satisfactory response has been received, according to the group. None of
the dissenting bandmembers nor their attorneys were available for comment, according
to their spokeswoman, Jennifer Vogelmann of Deluxxe Media.
Producer and recording artist Biafra (born Eric Boucher) said he proposed sitting down
to examine the books with a disgruntled Ray more than a year ago, but the guitarist
refused.
"If they tried to solve the problem constructively, the whole royalty situation would have
been sorted out and they would have been paid in January," Biafra said.
At this point, the three former Dead Kennedys have yet to begin any court proceedings
against Alternative Tentacles or Biafra, who took over as the label's sole owner in 1986.
Biafra declined to elaborate on what kind of legal action he would take if the band
refused the label's offer of appeasement, saying he would have to wait to see their
response.
"We're willing to back up our case all the way," he said.
Dead Kennedys albums such as Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980) and
Frankenchrist (1985) are considered landmarks of American punk for their
creative song structures and biting social commentary. The band broke up in 1986, after
a court case involving a controversial poster included with Frankenchrist took a
financial and emotional toll on its members. Ray and Fluoride currently perform in the
San Francisco surf-instrumental band Jumbo Shrimp.
According to Biafra, Ray's claims are based on a dispute over the other Dead Kennedys'
royalties. From 1989-97, he said, the three were paid based on a retail price of
$10.98 per CD, an arrangement agreed upon by all bandmembers in 1989. Last year,
Ray asked that the rate be raised to $13.98, Biafra added, claiming that Alternative
Tentacles consented to the increase but never heard back from the other three members
to confirm it. The label's lawyers have made written offers to the guitarist offering to
recalculate past royalties, even suggesting to make up any differences out of Biafra's
own pocket, Biafra said.
Biafra has since leveled his own raft of charges at Ray, including the claim that the
guitarist licensed the Dead Kennedys' recording of "Viva Las Vegas" for use in the film
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" without ever consulting Biafra.
If the dispute goes to court, a solution may rest in a partnership agreement drafted by
Ray in the years following the band's dissolution.
According to Biafra, the contract specifies individual songwriters as the owner of
publishing rights to each song, and the members as equal owners of the masters, or
actual sound recordings. Precisely who owns the masters may play a role in whether the
material can be taken to another label for distribution.
Peter Alessandria, a Beverly Hills, Calif., attorney whose practice represents musicians
and film and television artists, said disagreements among bandmembers often arise long
after the band has quit playing together.
"I tell all my clients before they do any kind of deal, make sure you can live with this deal
for the next 10 years," he said. "In a lot of cases, it's that long and longer that legal, moral,
personal and friendship issues will come back. These people are entering into
marriages."
At this point, the only parties doing well are the various attorneys, Biafra said. "This has
run up a huge amount of legal bills with all the paperwork going back and forth. The
lawyer we retain is doing 10 times the work on our behalf that he is normally expected to
do."
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