Jimi Hendrix Bandmates' Estates Sue Sony Over Royalties

Legal action has been initiated in the High Court by the estates of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, former bandmates of Jimi Hendrix, against Sony Music Entertainment UK. The estates allege a persistent exclusion from revenue generated by three seminal albums by The Jimi Hendrix Experience: 'Are You Experienced,' 'Axis: Bold As Love,' and 'Electric Ladyland.' These recordings, made in the 1960s, continue to be a substantial income source in the digital age.

Representing the estates, Simon Malynicz KC argued that Redding and Mitchell, who died in the 2000s, "died in relative poverty" and were "excluded early on in their lifetimes." He emphasized that the dispute concerns sound recording copyright and performers' rights, not the musical composition itself. Malynicz stated that Hendrix himself would have wanted his fellow musicians to receive their due entitlement.

Conversely, Sony Music's counsel, Robert Howe KC, contends that the original recording copyright belonged to producers, not the musicians. He also asserted that predecessors of the musicians' estates had previously relinquished rights and authorized the use of the recordings. Howe cited past settlements in New York in the 1970s and argued the current claim is an attempt to re-litigate ownership of the entire house, rather than a single room.