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"American Idol" Sued Over Musicians' Royalties

By 
June 13, 2008 2:55 PM ET

Even in the off-season, American Idol manages to stir up controversy as the musicians' union filed a lawsuit against the show, claiming the musicians in the AI band were underpaid. The American Federation of Musicians says the hit Fox show violated a collective bargaining agreement by failing to pay musicians royalties for rebroadcasts of episodes. In 2007, the show started using musicians to re-record new music for season highlights, a move that the union was also not informed of. A rep from American Idol has not commented on the suit yet.

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