Jay Z's 40/40 Sued by BMI

Michael Jackson, former collaborator turned rival R. Kelly and a dozen other artists have filed suit against Jigga's 40/40 Club for "unauthorized public performance of musical compositions." In other words, the club was not paying royalties to the artists for playing their music.

The suit was filed yesterday in Manhattan federal court.

According to an article which appeared in the New York Post, Jay Z isn't named in the suit.

There are several songs that received play at the club, without proper compensation, including Michael Jackson's Billy Jean, and Gold Digger by Kanye West. A BMI researcher discovered the violations after two random visits to the club in March of 2006.

According to Jerry Bailey, a spokesman for BMI , "the company holds the licensing rights" to over six million songs, nearly half the songs played in the U.S. The organization has not been able to license Jay's 40/40 Club.

Lawyers for the 40/40 Club have not commented on the suit.

According to the article, this is not the first time the club has encountered financial issues. Another law suit filed by former waitress Celeste Williams alleges that she and many other employees were not paid the minimum wage required by federal law.

Club management maintains that Williams only worked at the club for four days.