This article is more than 11 years old

This article is more than 11 years old

Pink Floyd, the band behind Dark Side of the Moon, one of the best-selling albums in music history, have filed a lawsuit against EMI, claiming the private equity-backed firm has miscalculated royalty payments.

The unprecedented legal claim is a glimpse at the fraught relationship between EMI, under the ownership of Guy Hands's Terra Firma, and some of the label's leading acts. The new owner's arrival in 2007 was blamed for the departure of acts such as Radiohead and Paul McCartney.

Terra Firma acquired stock market-listed EMI for just over £4bn, saddling it with £2.5bn of debt in the process. Hands, who became chairman, quickly moved to cut costs.

Industry insiders suggest the legal action is likely to have flared up amid routine three-yearly negotiations over royalty payments.

Pink Floyd, who signed with EMI in 1967, have been one of EMI's most lucrative signings. In the last 25 years their back catalogue has only been outsold by that of the Beatles.

EMI and Pink Floyd declined to comment.