AceShowbiz -

Two rock bands, namely The Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick, are suing Sony Music, claiming they are being shortchanged on royalties for songs downloaded legally over the Internet.

In their suit, filed April 27 in U.S. District Court in New York, both music acts alleged that Sony BMG has failed to live up to a contract requiring that it pay its musicians half of the net revenue it receives from licensing songs to download services like iTunes and Napster.

Further the suit claims that from 99-cent downloads, they receive only about 4.5 cents, rather than the 30 cents per track they believe they are owed. Still according to the suit, Sony is said to treat digital downloads like traditional record sales, rather than licensed music, triggering a different royalty deal.

While, the bands are seeking to have the suit declared a class action, which would cover all Sony artists who signed deals between 1962 and 2002, a spokesman for Sony BMG did not immediately respond to inquiries about the lawsuit.