THE BEAST

According to   Norrköpings Tidningar , the representatives for the former members of   GHOST   who sued the band's frontman and founder   Tobias Forge   earlier this year will meet with his attorneys for the first time today (Monday, November 13) in a court in Linköping, Sweden.

It is still unclear whether the former bandmembers and the band leader themselves will participate in the hearing or they will only be represented by their legal counsel.

Monday's negotiation is said to be so-called oral preparation. Such a negotiation has two purposes: first, it is about preparing any uncertainties for a main negotiation, and it is about investigating the conditions for a settlement.

The original lawsuit, which was filed in the district court of Linköping, where   GHOST   was originally based, claimed that   Forge   solely controlled the band's business affairs without input from anyone else in the group. The four musicians furthermore stated that a partnership agreement existed between them and   Forge   which put   Tobias   in charge of carrying out the company's management duties.

In a statement explaining the lawsuit, the musicians officially revealed their identities as   Simon Söderberg   ( Alpha ; member of   GHOST   from 2010 until 2016),   Mauro Rubino   ( Air ; member of   GHOST   from 2011 until 2016),   Henrik Palm   ( Eather ; member of   GHOST   from 2015 until 2016) and   Martin Hjertstedt   ( Earth ; member of   GHOST   from 2014 until 2016).

In June,   Forge   filed an official response to the lawsuit, claiming that "no legal partnership" ever existed between him and the four musicians regarding the activities of   GHOST   and explaining that "none of the plaintiffs were present at the time of the" group's formation and that their sole task was to "perform" and "execute" the musical works and the image that   Forge   had created, produced and decided, all according to his instructions. For their efforts, he said, the musicians were paid a fixed salary.

At the end of August, the four ex- GHOST   members presented an answer of their own, dismissing   Forge 's claim that   GHOST   is a solo project as "not [being] in accordance with the truth." " Forge   has certainly been the band's main songwriter, he has had the role of the band's cinematic front figure ' Papa Emeritus ,' has been a driving force in the band's business, as well as in the handling of the band's business affairs," the musicians wrote. "However, the activities carried out with respect to   GHOST   were extensively handled jointly by the members — for example, by making decisions jointly regarding the band's image, by participating in interviews, and by the fact that every member has, at certain times, contributed when recording the band's albums and singles and by touring together almost continuously since 2011."

The four ex-members, known previously only as Nameless Ghouls, claim that between the years of 2010 and 2016,   Forge   never told them that he viewed   GHOST   as a one-man business and solo project. "To the contrary,   Tobias Forge   has always emphasized that it was a collaboration that everyone was involved in and would share in the profit of once the business became profitable," they wrote. "The first time   Tobias Forge , through the band's management, mentioned that he saw them as hired musicians rather than full-fledged members of   GHOST   was in the context of a contract proposal presented in April 2016." This proposal was later rejected.

According to   GHOST 's ex-members, "It is not true that   Tobias Forge   was solely responsible for the creation of   GHOST , its image based on anonymity and its special stage presentation.   Tobias Forge   might have taken the initiative of founding the band   GHOST , but all members of the band were involved in the creation and development of the band's image and live show," they wrote. "For example, [former guitarist]   Martin Persner   [who is not involved with the lawsuit] designed most of the costumes and clothing that the band had on the stage (some of them together with   Tobias Forge ).   Martin Persner   has also, together with   Tobias Forge , designed some of the masks that members have worn at stage performances.   Martin Persner   is also behind many of the symbols used in   GHOST 's activities, such as the 'Water', 'Fire', 'Air' and 'Quintessence' symbols, as well as the various album covers, t-shirt designs, etc. For others members of the group they, like   Martin Persner , have been involved in the development of the band's stage show, setlists, choreography, lighting, stage decor and the like."

The ex- GHOST   musicians allege that the   Papa Emeritus   character was actually created by   Peter Hällje , a former bandmate of   Persner , prior to   GHOST 's formation.   Hällje   never performed as   Papa Emeritus , but agreed to let   Persner   use the character for his then-new band. "It is noteworthy that the permission given by   Peter Hällje   was not given to   Tobias Forge , but to   Martin Persner   for use in the band   GHOST ," they wrote.

The musicians furthermore claim that in 2011, they discussed the possibility of converting the business from the single company to an economic association, a limited company or a trading company. But "because   Tobias Forge   succeeded in convincing the other members that there was no time to register a joint association or joint venture, they chose to move forward with another   GHOST   model on the advice of   Forge   and the accounting consultants the band hired," they wrote. "The model was based on the fact that   Tobias Forge , through his companies and as the band leader, would collect and invoice third parties for the band's live fees, merchandise revenues and record royalties. The other members of the band would acquire 'F-tax slips'" — which allow business and self-employed individuals to document responsibility for payment of taxes to the state — "and bill   Tobias Forge   for their share of the profits of the business."

The four ex- GHOST   musicians also dispute   Forge 's claim that the band was formed in 2006, four years prior to the release of   GHOST 's debut album,   "Opus Eponymous" . They wrote: " GHOST   operations began in 2010 when   Simon Söderberg   and   Tobias Forge   recorded the songs   'Ritual' ,   'Death Knell' ,   'Elisabeth'   and   'Prime Mover'   and made them available on the   MySpace   web site, followed by   GHOST 's first live show, which took place on October 23, 2010. The launch of   GHOST   was thus 2010, not 2006."

The musicians also deny   Forge 's claim that they were paid a salary by him. Instead, they claim, an agreement was reached between the parties in 2013 that   Simon Söderberg   and   Mauro Rubino   would receive regular advance payments pending the final settlement. The advance payments received by the plaintiffs have varied from SEK 10,000 to SEK 30,000 (approximately $1250 - $3750) per month, depending on the member. This corresponds to a monthly net income (after tax) of between SEK 5,000 and SEK 15,000 ($625 - $1850). In addition, the members "received allowances on tours to cover rising living expenses."

Forge   was asked in a recent interview with   CBS Philadelphia   if he considers   GHOST   a solo project or a band. He replied: "I actually refer to it as the earlier of the two options. Even though I've never wanted it that way, but at the end of the day, that is what it is. So I think it speaks clear for itself. I mean, I started it in 2006, and no one that was ever in the band in 2016 was even on the first record. Call it solo, if you want to, but I call it a project."

Forge , who does all the band's interviews as a Nameless Ghoul, dismissed the entire lineup at the end of 2016 and brought in a fresh group of players. He explained: "I have been in the band since I started the band. I started writing songs for it in 2006. Nowadays there's a handful of very new members, yeah. But there has been about 10 to 15 people now going in and out of the band, so there's been a lot of rotation."

He added: "People have a tendency to want to feel that they're very important for something, and if it's not crucial that they're there, there will also be a little bit of a friction there."

Forge   entered the studio in August to begin recording a new   GHOST   LP. The follow-up to 2015's   "Meliora"   is expected out sometime early next year. Via Blabbermouth