The American Federation Of Musicians, basically the US' Musicians Union, is suing the makers of 'American Idol' over the rerecording of music for a rerun of the popular TV talent show. Or something like that, it's all a bit confusing really.
The dispute centres on 'American Idol Rewind', a repeat of the main pop reality programme that airs on various US TV networks after the main series and competition is done and dusted. I think the problem is that, in order to avoid having to pay the musicians whose music appeared on the original version of the show a second fee based on a union agreement (75% of the original fee and a pension fund contribution), producers had the music rerecorded by new musicians under a new agreement more favourable to the TV makers. The union says they weren't informed of this until after the fact, and that the second agreement violated another collective bargaining agreement. I think I'm right in saying the lawsuit relates specifically to the second series of 'American Idol'.
The union is suing in a bid to have the musicians whose music appeared on the main 'American Idol' series paid a fee for the repeat series, even though their music didn't actually appear on it. They are also looking for damages and legal fees, oh, and an injunction to stop TV producers switching music on reruns to avoid royalty payments again in the future.