QUICK TAKES - April 29, 2009

Of all the things that can come betwixt band and record label, the gulf that emerged between Jared Leto’s 30 Seconds to Mars and EMI appeared insurmountable. All that seemed to separate the two sides was $30 million or, as Leto once described it on the band’s website, “30 gazillion.”

But reunions are standard business procedure in the music industry, and the actor-musician said Tuesday that 30 Seconds to Mars and EMI had reached an agreement. Expect a new album, tentatively titled “This Is War,” this fall.

“It was a long battle, and the time came for the fight to end,” Leto said in an interview.

In a well-covered lawsuit filed last fall, EMI’s Virgin Records filed papers against 30 Seconds to Mars, seeking damages in excess of $30 million. It was widely reported that EMI was claiming the band had delivered only three of five albums due to the label. Leto, in turn, responded on the band’s website, and noted the group had been seeking to cease its relationship with the company long before the suit was filed.

-- Todd Martens