Universal to Retain Hallyday Tapes

A French appellate court Tuesday rejected an effort by French singing star Johnny Hallyday to recover the master tapes of his recordings from Universal Music Group.

The ruling marked a victory for the record label, which had argued that restitution to Hallyday would set a dangerous precedent in the music industry.

France has closely followed the legal battle by Hallyday, 61, who broke off his contract with the label in January 2004.

Neither Hallyday nor his lawyers appeared in court for Tuesday’s decision, and it was not immediately clear whether the singer planned to appeal.

The ruling overturned an August decision by a Paris labor tribunal ordering Universal to hand back all master tapes that Hallyday, considered an icon in France, recorded during his four-decade career.

Hallyday, born Jean-Philippe Smet, still must produce one final album for Universal by the end of the year, when the contract with the label will end, according to Tuesday’s ruling. He also will be required to help market the album.

Universal, a unit of French media and telecommunications company Vivendi Universal, also can continue to sell Hallyday’s albums made since 1961, the court said.

Under the ruling, Hallyday will be able to record and market new versions of his songs -- including past hits -- with another label after the contract is up. However, a new label would be required to pay a fee to Universal, which owns the rights to Hallyday’s songs.

Shares of Vivendi Universal fell 20 cents to $31.19 on the New York Stock Exchange.