"Artist demands to be paid their royalties" doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

Yes, truly, and holding up distribution of a film that would introduce her music to a new audience resulting in increased sales is also worth considering. We’re all fortunate that they didn’t simply replace the music, shafting both artist and audience, as is often the case.

TriStar went through a lot of merger hell over the years, so I don't guess rectifying all the publishing and distribution rights for a low-earning film from 1985 was high on their list of priorities.