Rock group Linkin Park are threatening to leave their record label, saying Warner Music has limited resources and is lagging behind in the industry.
The band’s management company said in a statement that they doubted Warner’s ability to sufficiently promote the band’s upcoming album due to recent cost-cuttings at the company.
Linkin Park claim to be responsible for 10 per cent of Warner’s music sales. However, representatives at Warner are accusing the band of overstatement, saying they have accounted for only about three per cent of American sales over the last five years.
“While Linkin Park’s talent is without question, the band’s management is using fictitious numbers and making baseless charges and inflammatory threats in what is clearly a negotiating tactic,” a Warner spokesperson said in a statement.
Linkin Park are currently under contract to record four more albums under Warner. The band’s first album, Hybrid Theory, was released in October 2000 and became the highest selling debut album of the 21st century. While their next release, 2002’s remix album Reanimation, did not reach similar success. Linkin Park’s most recent release, Meteora, was one of the best-selling rock albums of 2003.
Production on the band’s fourth album, originally planned for a spring 2006 release, has been halted. Linkin Park’s management said this decision to increasingly rely on touring, merchandise and endorsements for revenue would be “disastrous” to Warner.
