30 Seconds To Mars Back On Virgin

After suing each other for alleged breach of contract, 30 Seconds to Mars and Virgin/EMI have set aside their differences and signed a new multi-album recording deal.

The major had sued the Los Angeles band last year for $30 million over 30 Seconds to Mars' unilateral termination of its contract, in which the band cited a California law that governs the ability of entertainers to end their contracts after seven years. The band countersued the label last fall, alleging "creative accounting" that it said had resulted in unpaid royalties.

Neither EMI nor the band’s management would comment on how the lawsuits were resolved. In a posting on his band’s web site, frontman Jared Leto attributed the new contract to “the willingness and enthusiasm by EMI to address our major concerns and issues, the opportunity to return to work with a team so committed and passionate about Thirty Seconds to Mars, and the company's dedication to changing the status quo of the business of recorded music.”

Leto went on to write that the band had debated how far to take its legal battle, and whether to put out its next album independently or continue to rely on an experienced label.

“In the future, whether there are record companies or not, whether you put your music out only through the internet or sell it from an ice cream truck, you still need the help of individuals. And at the end of it all the biggest reason for us to reunite with EMI is exactly that. The people. It isn't for business or finance or contracts or the end of lawsuits. It is for the chance to rejoin the people who remain, who have been a part of our phenomenal journey throughout, and for the limitless possibilities of those wonderful new individuals who will be helping us along this new path.”

30 Seconds to Mars’ yet-untitled album, produced by Flood, is due this fall.