Mellow-rock icons The Eagles are continuing work on a new album expected next year, and record-industry antagonist Don Henley says they may issue the results without the help of a major label.

Henley told Billboard magazine that the disc -- the group's first since their mostly live-acoustic 1994 set "Hell Freezes Over", and their first new studio release since 1979's "The Long Run" -- may be released through "a combination of the Internet and certain superstore chains."

"We're diligently working on (the album) every day. If I had to speculate, I'd say it will come out early next year," Henley told Billboard.

The singer/drummer has lately been at the vanguard of the Recording Artists Coalition -- musicians fighting for artists rights against the major labels, hoping to change what they call unfair practices of entertainment companies.

The decision to make a big-ticket Eagles release a non-label release would be seen by many as a huge challenge to the record industry's current practices.

The Eagles most recently performed last week at a benefit concert for RAC in Los Angeles as part of a series of shows that raised $2.7 million U.S. for the artists' cause.

Meanwhile, the Eagles' music was recently the subject of a lawsuit launched by writers Jack Tempchin and J.D. Souther, over how publishers Warner-Chappell Music paid them royalties on their Eagles co-writes "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and "Take It Easy." Billboard said more than $10 million in royalties are in dispute.