Muse Record Label Sued For $3.5m
Charles Bolfrass says the band stole his idea for their Exogenesis symphony
According to Courthouse News Muse's record label Warner Music are being sued by Mr Bolfrass, who claims that he wrote a "cinematic science-fiction rock opera" called "Exogenesis" and he pitched the idea to three bands (one of which was Muse) to write the score in 2005. The following year Muse told Mr Bolfrass that they weren't interested in pursuing the project.
However, in 2009 the band released The Resistance, which contained a trilogy of songs called Exogenesis and the liner notes reveal the story of the song to be about "humanity coming to an end and everyone pinning their hopes on a group of astronauts who go out to explore space and spread humanity to another planet." Bolfrass claims that this story is nearly identical to his original story pitch.
He also claims that the album cover features an image which Muse stole from his original storyboards.
Bolfrass is suing Warner Music Group for copyright infringement, unfair trade practices and unfair competition. He is looking for $3.5 million in damages.