Jimi Hendrix Bandmates Will Not Experience Copyright Shares

Photo Credit: Jimi Hendrix by A. Vente (1967) / CC by 3.0

The estates of two former Jimi Hendrix bandmates lose a case against Sony Music UK, claiming they were entitled to copyright and performers’ rights.

Owners of the estates of former Jimi Hendrix bandmates, bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, filed a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment UK (SMEUK). The two estates claimed that they were entitled to both copyright and performers’ rights related to approximately 40 studio recordings of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s performances recorded in the ‘60s.

The estates were seeking a declaration of shares in the ownership of the copyrights for the recordings, as well as the ownership of rights related to the performances involved in those recordings. Further, their filing sought an inquiry into what they could have been owed had they been properly given the rights in the first place.

But SMEUK denied any wrongdoing, telling the court that it was the producers of the albums who owned the original recording copyright, and not the musicians. Therefore, they argued, the estates of Redding and Mitchell have no claim.

On Tuesday, Mr Justice Johnson agreed with the label, dismissing the estates’ claims in a 140-page ruling which noted that a clause of the recording agreement was “clear and unequivocal.”

“The producers and the band members agreed that the producers would have the copyright throughout the world in the recordings,” he wrote. “There was no temporal or territorial limitation to this agreement.”

SMEUK said it was “thankful” the case had concluded after more than four years. A spokesperson for the company said it was “pleased that the high court confirmed that there has been no infringement of any rights and that they are fully entitled to exploit their rights in the Jimi Hendrix Experience catalog.”

Redding and Mitchell both died in the 2000s. They formed the band with Jimi Hendrix in 1966, breaking up shortly before the legendary guitarist died from a drug overdose in 1970. Redding and Mitchell played on the band’s three studio albums—Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland—widely considered pillars of psychedelic rock.