Michael Jackson sues Motown

LOS ANGELES (Michael Jackson Fans Website) - Michael Jackson is suing Motown Records for money he says he is owed for classic songs he recorded with the Jackson Five. He filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles alleging he has not been paid the royalties due for the music.

Jackson alleges that he has never received a single dollar for some of his songs. He also claims his music has been used in television advertisements without his consent.

Motown Records was the best known soul music label in the US when Jackson and his brothers recorded a string of hits for it in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Never Can Say Goodbye, I Want You Back and I'll Be There.
But the Jackson Five left Motown in 1976 after severe disagreements, which were only settled in an 1980 agreement. That deal is now the subject of Jackson's lawsuit.
His lawyers are suing Motown's new owner Universal Music for unpaid royalties, as well as punitive damages which could run into millions of dollars.

Furthermore, Jackson is demanding the return of the original recordings. Universal Music has refused to comment.

This lawsuit comes almost a year after Jackson sued his current record label, Sony, and its then chief executive Tommy Mottola, for what he described as racist business practices, a charge the company rejected as absurd.

Michael Jackson's last album for Sony, Invincible, cost a reported $30m to produce but sold a modest two million copies.