Rodney Atkins' performance of his No. 1 hit “Take a Back Road” aboard a float at the 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade provided some nice national TV exposure for the country singer. But it could come at a cost to his record label.

The American Federation of Musicians filed a lawsuit against Curb Records on Thursday, claiming the company illegal authorized an instrumental-only version of “Take a Back Road” for use at the parade. AFM, a labor organization for musicians, has a contract with Curb that requires the label to obtain approval before furnishing tracks without vocals to artists. The agreement also maintains that artists can't use instrumental recordings during live performances.

“As a result of Curb’s breach of Article 7, AFM and its members who were engaged as musicians to record the instrumental tracks have suffered loss, damage, and harm of their contractual and collective bargaining rights,” the lawsuit reads.

The complaint requests economic damages on behalf of the musicians who performed on “Take a Back Road,” which last year became Atkins’ sixth No. 1 song.

Curb representatives didn't respond to request for comment as of Friday morning.