Soundgarden Sued by Chris Cornell’s Wife Over Royalties and Unreleased Material

Soundgarden has been sued by Chris Cornell’s wife Vicky. The band had been planning for new album prior to his 2017 death and had been hoping to complete those songs and eventually release them. The physical ownership of his final recordings are thought to have belonged to Cornell‘s estate and his widow Vicky. According to the PRP, TMZ reports she’s alleging Soundgarden‘s team hasn’t paid royalties for her late husband’s work with the band in a bid to force her to turn over Chris‘ final projects.

The band members have alleged that five of the seven recordings were co-written together while Vicky claims in the lawsuit that they were solely written by her husband. She’s seeking sole ownership of all seven recordings and that the band pay her the royalties that she’s allegedly owed from Soundgarden. She also alleges that Soundgarden’s guitarist Kim Thayil’s comments regarding her obstructing the release of a final Soundgarden album have put her and her family in harm’s way.

She issued a statement via Instagram, saying “This was not the way I would have chosen to move forward. But I will not be pushed aside for someone else’s convenience or gain. I will not sacrifice our children’s futures for someone else’s greed. And I will not let someone else make me feel shame because the man I loved was taken from all of us too soon.”

She continues on to say “I will do justice by my husband’s work and memory; for our children and for everything we stood for. I want to thank everyone who has stood by Chris and has supported us through this devastating time. Your love and your kindness will never be forgotten.#chriscornell forever 🖤”

Cornell’s team recently released a super deluxe box set of his full discography including stuff from Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo works. It contains 4CD’s, 1DVD, and 180-gram 7LP limited-edition color vinyl. Toni Cornell, Chris’ daughter, also shared a track called “Far Away Places,” one of the last recordings Chris had done.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

Roy Lott: College grad and aspiring music journalist. I have a passion for all things music, listen to most genres and go to many shows and festivals (if the lineup is good). Discovering new music and artists is another habit of mine that I can't shake.
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