Those readers of The Ticket with a keen interest in stocks and shares may have noticed a new arrival on the New York stock exchange in recent days. The Warner Music Group (WMG) went public last week, and $17 would have bought you a share in such acts as Green Day, Madonna, REM, Flaming Lips and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

By the end of the first day's trading, however, those shares had slumped to $16.40, so any potential masters of the universe were already nursing a loss.

Your investment also entitled you to share in the fortunes of Linkin Park. The band have sold over 35 million albums to date worldwide and claim their brand of rap metal has accounted for 10 per cent of the company's revenue over the last five years.

You'd think, then, that the band would be perfect poster- boys for WMG's adventure with the bulls and bears. But they said no to playing a celebratory gig at the stock exchange, and we had to settle for the sight of Jimmy Page joining WMG executives as the bell rang to start the day's trading.

Linkin Park have obviously been taking a close interest in the business pages and they don't like what they are reading about their record company. WMG cost its new owners about $2.6 billion in 2004. Since then, the company has cut $250m in costs, reduced the workforce by a fifth and slashed its roster of artists by a third. Now the company is going to the stock exchange and those owners stand to gain $1.4 billion. And for bands like Linkin Park, who have contributed to making the company the success story it is today? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Displaying better timing than they've ever done on any of their records, Linkin Park decided to go public about their unhappiness. Why should investors and executives trouser millions at the expense of bands and staff? Like, do these breadheads not realise there wouldn't be a company without the musicians? This sucks, man.

Naturally, there's another side to this grumbling. Warner Music quickly pointed out that they were involved in heated negotiations with Linkin Park and their management about the band's contract and viewed this public whingeing as an unsubtle form of blackmail.The band and their advisors knew exactly what they were getting into when they signed their contract, so their bellyaching is as tiresome as their tunes. Regardless of whether it's with an independent or a major, record contracts are notoriously dense, complex, confusing and overwhelmingly one-sided. Translating these into plain English is the lot of lawyers and accountants, which is why the band and their management company inevitably hired these professionals in the first place and paid handsomely for their advice.

Linkin Park's complaints about corporate greed really do ring hollow. After all, when thousands of Warner Music employees lost their jobs, we didn't see Linkin Park donating a split of their royalties to the newly-fired. But, as they eye the loot that others are now allegedly about to make, Linkin Park want to dip their beaks in the trough like everyone else.

Maybe they should swap their next recording advance for WMG shares and hightail it down to the New York stock exchange. Now that would be an infinitely more thrilling ride than their next album.