Elvis Presley Enterprises is suing Chrysalis Music Group to the tune of $5 million, charging that Chrysalis failed to perform its duties administering publishing of songs owned by EPE.

In a suit filed last week in New York Supreme Court, EPE and the heirs of publishers Julian and Jean Aberbach charge Chrysalis with underpaying royalties on songs to which EPE and the Aberbachs hold the copyrights, and other royalty collection and payment issues. Presley and his manager, Col. Tom Parker, entered into a music publishing deal with the Aberbachs in 1955, at the outset of the singer's career.

Chrysalis Music Group had been contracted by EPE and the Aberbachs to protect their publishing rights and collect royalties from 2002 to 2006, according to the suit, which also alleges that Chrysalis failed to make payments to EPE and the Aberbachs even after its own audits showed that additional money was due them.

The suit asks for a minimum of $5 million in damages.

“The lawsuit came as a surprise to us, as we have been working with the Presley estate on resolving an ongoing audit," a Chrysalis spokesman said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Without prejudice, it is our intention to keep working towards a satisfactory solution for all parties concerned.”

-- Randy Lewis

The Ray Charles Foundation has filed a lawsuit charging the late soul singer’s eldest son, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., with copyright infringement stemming from the use of a photograph and several of Charles’ songs in the son’s recent book “You Don’t Know Me: Reflections of My Father,  Ray Charles.”

The Foundation, which Charles assigned as the owner of his copyrights and intellectual property rights upon his death in 2004, alleges that Robinson’s book used a copyrighted photo, the titles and  lyrics of four of his songs without permission.

The action filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles seeks $150,000 for each copyright violation and also names as defendants the book’s publisher, Crown Publishing, and Crown’s parent company, Random House, and Robinson’s co-author, Mary Jane Ross. Random House officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The dedication page of Robinson Jr.’s book, which was published in June, reads, in part, “To the memory of my father, Ray Charles Robinson, and all that you were to be and all that you dreamed you wanted to be. I love you come rain or come shine.”

-- Randy Lewis

According to a press release sent Wednesday, Santogold, the stallion-riding genre-mixer, has changed the middle letter of her name, thus becoming Santigold. The announcement goes on to explain, "She’s not telling you why, that’s just how it is. No unpronounceable symbol, no numbers where they shouldn’t be ... just plain ... Santigold."

In keeping with the "not telling you why" part, her representative has stated that he has no further comment. Of course, the singer's name is Santi White, but why bother with a name change now, after a tremendous wave of momentum that placed her debut album in nearly every 2008 Top 10 list?

White's name-changing fracas began, according to Stereogum, in November when a press release from the mtvU Woodies Awards referred to her as "Santi (the artist formerly known as Santogold)." The Prince-like name change didn't stick but it did draw attention to why she might've done it. Turns out that lawyers for an '80s infomercial/cult artist by the name of Santo Gold filed a lawsuit in June against White, Downtown Music and Lizard King Records, claiming name infringement. Santo Gold is seeking compensatory damages, an injunction barring the use of the "Santo Gold mark or anything substantially similar" and the recall and destruction of all items already in commerce allegedly infringing on the Santo Gold mark.