Rolling Stones Lose Bid to increase fortunes!

Rolling Stones lose bid to force open books of record company
LONDON (AP) — The Rolling Stones have failed to force an audit of the books of Decca Music Group, which they say may not have paid them all the royalties from their 40 Licks greatest hits album.
The dispute centres on royalties from the album, which includes ’60s hits such as Paint It Black and Sympathy for the Devil, the rights to which are still owned by Decca.
Band members say they’re entitled to 80 per cent of the royalties from the Decca tracks on the album — which could run into millions of dollars — and say an audit would disclose how much they should be paid.
But a High Court judge ruled Friday that under the terms of a 1976 agreement between Decca and the surviving members of the band — Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts — disputes over royalties must be referred to arbitration rather than the courts.
On that basis, Justice Nicholas Pumfrey turned down the Stones’ application for an order forcing Decca to allow an audit of its books.
There was no immediate comment from Decca.
The Stones were given permission to appeal the High Court’s decision.