A bassist who claims to have recorded numerous songs with Linkin Park in 1999 has filed a lawsuit against the band, seeking unpaid copyrights and royalties.
Kyle Christner says he never received “ one cent ” for his work, he is therefore asking a federal judge to intervene and settle the question of ownership and authorship of more than 20 disputed songs, according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday and obtained by WECB.
At the center of the complaint, one of the band’s managers allegedly contacted Christner last April to tell him that the bassist would receive royalties for three demos and the EP Hybrid Theory of six songs, included in the rap-metal group’s 20th anniversary box set released in 2020, which commemorated the landmark 2000 studio album, also titled Hybrid Theory.
The box set included the EP Hybrid Theory, that the group released in 1999 with Christner, as well as other rare and unreleased tracks, some of which were described as ” forgotten demos “. One of these demos, titled “ Could Have Been ”, has been viewed nearly a million times on YouTube since its release three years ago, according to the lawsuit.
When Christner reviewed all the archival materials in the box set, he concluded that his work appeared on “ more than twenty songs ”, according to the complaint. Mr. Christner said he reported his findings to the management company, Machine Shop Entertainment, but the manager who initially contacted him did not respond after acknowledging his letter.
The musician considered himself a member of the group in 1999 and even performed with Linkin Park in a concert for Warner Records Inc. that eventually led to a record deal.
According to the lawsuit, the other members of the group “ suddenly » informed Christner that he was being kicked out of the group in October 1999. He never received an explanation for this decision.
However, Mike Shinoda, co-founder of Linkin Park, complimented Christner during a Twitch stream following the release of “ Could Have Been » in 2020.
According to Christner, other songs on the box set covering his work are ” She Couldn’t “, ” Flesh “, ” Blue ” And ” Step Up “.
“ In fact, Christner appears to have played on at least tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of Forgotten Demos, tracks 1, 2, 7, 13, 14, 16 and 17 of LPU Rarities, and track 7 of B-Side Rarities, as well as on the EP Hybrid Theory,” the court document states.
The bassist also claims to have participated in the composition of many Linkin Park songs during the group’s debut. He asked the court to determine who is the author and owner of the disputed songs and to account for all profits generated by the works. Christner is also seeking payment of back royalties, interest and attorney’s fees.
“ It would be unfair for the defendants to retain such an advantage without paying the plaintiff his fair share “, we can read in the complaint.
Linkin Park members Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson and Joseph Hahn are named as defendants alongside Machine Shop and Warner Records. A representative for the band and label did not immediately respond to request for comment from WECB.
