Madonna's record label loses £37m in five years

The dispute between Madonna's record label, Maverick, and its parent company Warner Music has been exacerbated by new documents which reveal Maverick has been haemorrhaging money since 1999.

The dispute between Madonna's record label, Maverick, and its parent company Warner Music has been exacerbated by new documents which reveal Maverick has been haemorrhaging money since 1999.

Maverick, which is represents the pop singers Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch, has lost $66m (£37m) over the past five years. Warner Music revealed the information in a pre-emptive lawsuit filed a day before Madonna launched her case against the company on 24 March.

Warner Music has asked a Delaware court to rule that it has satisfied its contract commitments to Maverick.

Warner reportedly has the option to buy out the 60 per cent stake owned by Madonna and her business partners Guy Oseary and Ronnie Dashev, at the end of the year.

Madonna's $200mlawsuit alleges that Warner Music has mismanaged Maverick and practised fraud and false accounting.

The pop singer claims that she and her partners have lost millions of dollars in the deal and are seeking to end the 12-year-old joint venture. Warner claims that she must pay $92.5m, in addition to the value of Warner's interest in Maverick, in order to terminate the agreement.

The $92.5m includes the $66m Warner says it has incurred in losses, a $20m loan and unpaid fees of $6.5m.

Warner Music has warned that it can convert Maverick into a "purely passive economic interest" if the amount is not paid.