Brent Wilson, former bassist of Panic! At the Disco has announced plans to file a lawsuit against the band.
You can read the MySpace bulletin post below:
A court case is in the making. Brent and his lawyer have taken the next step. A letter has been sent to Panic! stating that Brent will be taking them to court if he has not received an agreement from the band within 14 days. If this 14 day grace period is neglected, further measures will be taken. If Panic! does not agree to Brent’s proposal, the case may take anywhere from two to four years. If, in the event the band does not come to a settlement, the IRS will have to get involved and things will get even uglier. In the mean time, the family thanks all of you for your support.
Wait, so what’s the complaint?
My guess is something with royalties.
That’s fucking rediculous.
It’s pretty valid if he helped to write & record and is getting nothing out of it.
Oh, I don’t Katie means to ensue that the complaint is not valid. Band members come and go with some frequency and you don’t hear about this sort of issue much. So whether most departing members just put that part of their lives behind them and go on without worrying about royalties or if the matters are generally settled more privately and informally, it’s still somewhat ridiculous that the Panic! at the Disco case has escalated to this point.
I don’t think it’s ridiculous in any way, whatsoever. Contracts are contracts, royalty agreements are royalty agreements. Panic is making absurd amounts of money from not only their album but licensing, mechanical rights, synch rights, etc. and I am actually impressed that he would stand up for his fair share. It’s unfair to assume a band member could just part ways with a band and would not expect to receive their compensation. It’s a job: most jobs have a compensation package when an employee is let go, unless fired for a legitimate reason (ie: skipping work), which to the best of my knowledge, was not the case here.
Sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude, but I know a lot about contracts and royalties so I do agree that he deserves his share and shouldn’t be required to just walk away and put things behind him while former band mates cash in.
It’s unfortunate it has become so public but sometimes ignorance is a call for action. You better believe the band’s going to deal with something public instead of ignoring it.