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When do fractions of pennies add up to millions of dollars? Answer: When they are accumulated unpaid royalties for one of the most popular albums of all time.

Songwriters Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, and Jack Tempchin stand to collect as much as $10 million after winning a lawsuit brought against Warner-Chappell Music for royalties owed for songs included in The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975), one of the best-selling rock albums ever released. The plaintiffs, who penned monster hits like "Take it Easy" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling," had asserted that they were due compensation of 2.4¢ per song per record sold, rather than the 2¢ per song they were paid.

Two cents per song was the government-mandated minimum rate in 1975, the year the record was first released. Not revealed to the songwriters was a deal Warner-Chappell had signed with Warner's Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch label division to pay a higher rate, 2.4¢ per use. The discrepancy was uncovered when Tempchin commissioned an audit of his royalties a few years ago, his lawyer told the Los Angeles Times.

Warner-Chappell also agreed to pay Eagles members Don Henley and Glenn Frye a higher rate for songs they wrote or collaborated on, although the band members were not named in the lawsuit. Browne, Souther, and Tempchin reached the settlement Friday, November 22 with the publishing arm of AOL Time Warner, Inc. Eagles members have had their own wrangles with their record label; Henley is a founding member of the Recording Artists Coalition (RAC), a group seeking reforms in contract law for musicians.