Santa Monica Biz Sues Over Grammy Souvenirs

A Santa Monica-based company is suing the official publisher of the recent Grammy Awards show souvenir book.

Max Sound Corp. filed the lawsuit Tuesday, alleging its representatives were misled via broken promises to spend $26,000 for space within the front cover.

The lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against FX Marketing Group Inc., alleges breach of contract, intentional misrepresentation, fraud and false advertising. The company is seeking unspecified compensatory damages.

A representative for FX Marketing, based in Tampa, Fla., did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

According to the complaint, FX promised that "12,000 of the most powerful people in the music industry" would be at the Feb. 12 awards show at Staples Center and would receive a copy of the awards book.

Instead, the book was only placed on seats in the first four rows, according to the lawsuit. "Based on information and belief, the awards book(s) were placed on far less than a thousand seats—nowhere close to the number agreed to under the terms of the agreement," the suit states.

Thousands of the books may have been distributed at the door with no assurance they would have reached the audience Max Sound wanted them to, according to the plaintiff.

The agreement also called for more than a million of the books to be distributed nationwide to such outlets as Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart before the show so they would be available to fans, but that also did not happen, the suit alleges.

— City News Service