311 is suing Atlanta-based Capricorn Records, alleging that the label breached its agreement with the band by failing to provide marketing, promotion, and support for the group's albums at a "major label" level. Filed Monday (Aug. 28) in Los Angeles Superior Court, the suit seeks termination of the band's recording contract with the label, based on "mutual mistake" and "frustration of purpose."
A spokesperson for Capricorn had no comment.
The band claims that since it signed with Capricorn in 1992, the label has moved through three record label partnerships (with Warner Bros., Mercury, and then the Universal Music Group after it acquired Mercury), and several distributors, "culminating in an unstable atmosphere which has demonstrably been to the detriment of 311's career."
The suit also alleges that Capricorn caused "irreparable harm to [311's] musical career," when it drew up the band's recording contract and "used its superior bargaining power and knowledge to structure the terms... in an attempt to monopolize [311's] career," by forcing the band "to spend extended periods of time on the road... coupled with the short time between the recording commitments" in the band's contract.
Within the suit, the band says that as of Friday (Sept. 1), it will no longer "be performing services under the agreement."
311's last release, 1999's "Soundsystem," debuted at No. 9 on The Billboard 200 and featured the single "Come Original," which hit No. 6 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The 1997 album "Transistor" fared even better, debuting and peaking at No. 4.
In total, the band has sold approximately 5.5 million albums in the U.S., according to SoundScan. Its self-titled third album, released in 1996, accounts for the majority of those sales, at 3 million, followed by "Transistor" (855,000), "Music" (1993, 580,000), "Grassroots" (1994, 540,000), and "Soundsystem" (425,000). 311's 1998 "Live!" album has sold 170,000 copies.
"We've told the label many times we were unhappy with their handling of our careers," 311 frontman Nick Hexum said in the statement. "After several years of complaints and Capricorn's unfulfilled promises, we decided we had to take legal action. The band will carry on through touring."
To that end, 311 has announced a six-week U.S. fall theater tour with Zebrahead supporting. The run will kick off Oct. 7 at the Warfield in San Francisco, following two festival appearances: Sept. 9 at the Red Bull Rock 'n' Air Festival at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo., and Oct. 7 at Cypress Hill's Smoke Out Festival in San Bernardino, Calif. The tour also includes an Oct. 28 appearance at New Orleans' annual Voodoo Music Festival.
The band, formerly based in Omaha, Neb., is preparing for the tour at its recently acquired Hive Studios in Los Angeles, and working on new material. According to its official Web site, "the band has been staying busy writing and rehearsing five days a week. Already they have nearly 10 new song ideas."
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