Linkin Park has reached a settlement to end a lawsuit that accused the band of refusing to pay royalties to a former bassist who played briefly with the band in the late 1990s.
In a statement issued Friday, the band said it had reached an “amicable resolution” with Kyle Christnerwho sued the band last year for claiming he was “never paid a dime” for contributions he made during several months he was with Linkin Parkin in 1999.
The controversy was sparked by the anniversary reissue of Linkin Park's 2000 debut album. Hybrid theory, which holds the distinction of being the best-selling rock album of the 21st century. Christner claimed to have contributed some of the material released on the anniversary box set – a claim confirmed by the band in Friday's statement.
“Kyle is a very talented musician who made valuable contributions to Linkin Park at a pivotal time in 1999,” Linkin Park wrote in Friday's statement. “He played with the band at many shows and at many record showcases. Kyle helped write and perform many songs from that era, including some of his Hybrid theory EP.”
The statement was accompanied by a joint court filing seeking to formally end the lawsuit, signed by lawyers for both Christner and Mike Shinoda and other members of Linkin Park. Attorneys for Christner did not return a request for comment Monday.
Christner sued in November, claiming he was a member of the band for several months in 1999 until he was “abruptly informed” he had been fired shortly before the band signed a record deal with Warner Records. He accused the band of continuing to profit from the songs he helped create while effectively erasing his involvement.
“Christner has never been paid a dime for his work with Linkin Park, nor has he been properly credited, even as the defendants benefited from his creative efforts,” his lawyers wrote at the time.
In addition to Shinoda, the lawsuit also named other living members of Linkin Park (Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson and Joseph Hahn), as well as its business entity, Machine Shop Entertainment, and the band's label, Warner Records.
Specifically, Christener pointed to its re-release Hybrid theory. He claimed that the special 2020 box set included several songs he had contributed to, including a never-before-released demo track that has amassed 949,000 views on YouTube.
Before Friday's settlement, Linkin Park was struggling to get the case dismissed. In a filing last month, the band argued that the case was filed too late and that the statute of limitations for such claims had “long since passed.”
“Defendants have disclaimed plaintiff's purported ownership of any and all works referred to in [lawsuit] more than three years before the plaintiff filed this lawsuit — and indeed for more than two decades,” the band's lawyers wrote at the time.
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