Beck Fires Back at Geffen With Lawsuit

A new salvo was fired Monday in the continuing contract battle between singer Beck and Seagram Co.’s Geffen Records as the Grammy-winning artist filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against the label.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims that Geffen Records improperly wrested control of Beck’s most recent album, “Mutations,” from another label. The suit also claims that Geffen failed to pay the singer an advance or any royalties for the more than 400,000 copies sold in the U.S. since the album’s November release.

The singer, whose full name is Beck Hansen, claims in his suit that he paid for the recording of “Mutations” with the understanding that it would be released by Bong Load Custom Records to fulfill his obligation to that independent label. Bong Load had Beck under contract when it ushered him to Geffen in 1993.

A spokesman for Geffen declined to comment Monday.

The lawsuit comes two weeks after Geffen and Bong Load sued the singer in Los Angeles Superior Court for breach of contract, a response to the singer’s threat to scrap the existing contracts.