Kyle Christner, the former bass player for Linkin Park has filed a lawsuit against the nu-metal group’s Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, and Warner Records for allegedly failing to pay for his contribution to the group’s ‘In The End’ songs
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the guitarist claimed that he joined the iconic rockers when the band signed their first major recording contract and has not been compensated for his work on their 1999 EP ‘Hybrid Theory’. He also claims to have been let go in October 1999 for no reason, and in 2020 Linkin Park released a 20th-anniversary box set of ‘Hybrid Theory’ without crediting Kyle.
The lawsuit states that “For example, he played bass on and collaborated in composing ‘Could Have Been,’ a song that had never previously been released in any form and now has nearly a million views on YouTube alone. An industry professional.” “The Box set includes, among other things, rare and previously unreleased tracks on three collections (presented as compact disks in the physical edition) respectively titled Forgotten Demos, B-Side Rarities, and LPU Rarities.” “There is no other attribution to Christner in the Box Set, even though he plays on recordings on all three CDs and the EP.”
Christner insists he’s “never been paid a penny for his work with Linkin Park, nor has he been properly credited, even as Defendants have benefitted from his creative efforts,” and also claims to have had contact with a member of the band’s management, who informed him he is allegedly owed royalties from the reissue of ‘Hybrid Theory’.” And when asked how much he’s owed, the representative allegedly didn’t respond further. The lawsuit went on to accuse the group of having “wrongfully profited at Christner’s expense.”
Kyle Christener was with the band between 1998 and 1999 and is seeking what he is owed and unknown damages.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Sven Mandel