A LAWSUIT filed by Eminem against Universal Music has finally gone to trial.
The rapper took legal action against his record label two years ago claiming it owes him £1.1million ($1.6million) in unpaid royalties.
The lawsuit, on behalf of his publishing company FBT Productions, centres on royalties an artist receives when one of their songs or a ring tone is purchased online.
Although the payment is included in some contracts between labels and artists, there are a lot of cases where it is not given the same emphasis as the royalties earned from CD sales.
Eminem's lawyers claim digital downloads should be included in the licensing agreements that typically cover CDs and vinyl and are often split 50-50 between an artist and their record label.
But Universal said digital sales are covered by distribution agreements, which can earn an artist less than 30%.
A lawyer for Eminem said: "If you give the music to a third party without cost to you, like manufacturing or packaging, that's the same as a licensing agreement.
"Universal are characterising it as something else."
The outcome of this trial could have a huge impact on the money artists earn from digital sales, which are becoming increasingly commonplace.