The turbulence at EMI since Guy Hands’ leveraged buy-out of the struggling British music company is giving bands new ammunition in the old game of contract renegotiation.

30 Seconds to Mars, a Los Angeles rock band fronted by Jared and Shannon Leto, invoked a California law in July enabling artists to break contracts after seven years. This allowed it to part from Virgin Records America, the EMI label to which it signed in 1999.