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Smashing Pumpkins sue record label
Level 1
Elementary
Key words
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Find the information
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Look in the text and find the following information as quickly as possible.
When did EMI buy Virgin Records?
When did the Smashing Pumpkins split up?
When did the Smashing Pumpkins re-form?
For how long did the Smashing Pumpkins have a contract with Virgin Records in the US?
How much did the Smashing Pumpkins’ 2000 album cost?
Which two companies were advertised using the Smashing Pumpkins’ music?
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Smashing Pumpkins sue record 
label over use of songs in Pepsi 
promotional deals 
• Band says Virgin had no agreement to use name 
• Tensions growing as labels seek new
revenue streams
Owen Gibson, media correspondent
March 26, 2008
Rock bands often have a difficult relationship 
with the world of big business and a new legal 
case in the US is an example of this relationship. 
American rock group the Smashing Pumpkins 
are suing their record label because they say it 
used their name and music without permission in 
promotional deals with Pepsi and Amazon. The 
group had a contract with Virgin Records in the 
US for 17 years. However, they have now said 
that the only agreement they have now covers 
the right to sell digital downloads and not the 
right to use the band’s image in
advertising campaigns.
The group has taken their record company to 
court in Los Angeles for breaking their contract. 
Band members said they had “worked hard for 
over twenty years to build up a good image with 
the public”. Virgin used their name and music 
in a promotion with Amazon.com and PepsiCo 
called Pepsi Stuff. The Smashing Pumpkins say 
that this was bad for their image and their “artistic 
integrity”. They said they would “never give 
permission like this to Virgin, or any
other company”. 
Some big name artists, like Michael Jackson and 
Robbie Williams, have happily signed deals with 
soft drinks brands and mobile phone networks 
to be part of their advertising campaigns and to 
advertise their products on their tours, but other 
artists have always refused to sign such deals. 
The Smashing Pumpkins split up in 2000. Sales 
of their records had stopped rising and band 
members were arguing with each other. They 
re-formed in 2006 but have always had a difficult 
relationship with the big record companies. 
Although they sold millions of copies of albums 
such as Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie 
and the Infinite Sadness, they also gave their 
music away for nothing on the Internet. In 2000, 
they gave away their album for free after a 
disagreement with Virgin. 
Disagreements between artists and their record 
labels are nothing new but many people believe 
that problems will increase because the music 
industry is looking for new sources of income. 
The Beatles famously did not give permission for 
their music to be used in advertising but Sony 
Publishing, which now owns the rights to the 
Beatles back catalogue, said it will allow Beatles 
songs to be used. 
The links between advertisers and music labels 
have become stronger in recent years because 
music labels need licensing fees to replace falling 
CD sales. Record labels and artists also use 
advertisers to promote new artists, particularly 
in areas where it is difficult for new groups to get 
their music played on the radio. Levis has helped 
to make the music of a lot of old and new artists 
popular, José González had a worldwide hit with 
Heartbeats after it appeared in a Sony advert, and 
Moby’s Play album became a hit when every track 
was licensed to an advertising agency. 
The big record companies have found that their 
profits are falling because CD sales are falling, 
people are illegally copying CDs, and digital 
downloads are not making enough money. As 
a result they are trying to create partnerships 
between big brands and their artists. Guy Hands, 
who bought the record label EMI last year, 
says the relationship between big brands and 
artists is important if the company is going to be 
successful again. 
EMI did not want to comment on the court case. 
It has owned Virgin Records since 1991, when 
Richard Branson sold it to get money for his 
airline business. Earlier this month, Warner Music 
International announced its first partnership