Kelly Clarkson is one of many American Idol acts named in a lawsuit that has been filed against Sony Music.

19 Recordings - who also deal with other ex-Idol stars such as Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry - claim that Sony have been under-paying its artists royalties.

The label was created by American Idol creator Simon Fuller and it is now run by the show's owners Core Media Group. Sony distributed their records between 2005 and 2010.

One of the claims 19 Recordings have made is that Sony treated streams on Spotify and iTunes as a "sale" or "distribution", reducing the amount of royalties they should have been paying to artists.

19 Entertainment's worldwide head of music Jason Morey said of the $10 million+ (£6m) legal action: "We did not want to have to file this lawsuit, but Sony left us no choice, so this became necessary to protect our artists. Our complaint lays out the claims in great detail. Everything we have to say about the case is set forth in it."

Watch Kelly Clarkson on American Idol below: