Soundgarden and the estate of the late Chris Cornell (led by his widow Vicky Cornell) have reached an “amicable out-of-court resolution,” reconciling the long-running legal disputes between the two parties.
The agreement will lead to the release of Chris Cornell’s final recordings with Soundgarden, which had been one of the points of contention, among other disagreements.
A joint statement was posted to the Soundgarden and Chris Cornell social media pages announcing the news:
“Soundgarden and Vicky Cornell, on behalf of the Estate of Chris Cornell, are happy to announce they have reached an amicable out of court resolution. The reconciliation marks a new partnership between the two parties, which will allow Soundgarden fans around the world to hear the final songs that the band and Chris were working on. The two parties are united and coming together to propel, honor and build upon Soundgarden’s incredible legacy as well as Chris’s indelible mark on music history – as one of the greatest songwriters and vocalists of all time.”
It’s great news for fans of Soundgarden and the music of Chris Cornell. The legal spats between Vicky Cornell and the remaining members of the band got progressively uglier after Vicky initially sued the members of Soundgarden in December 2019, accusing them of falsely claiming ownership of seven unreleased songs and withholding royalties from her.
This was followed by a countersuit — a separate matter — that Soundgarden filed against Vicky in May 2020, involving unreleased recordings and the status of the band’s social media channels, which they claimed Vicky had taken over without permission. They also contended that Vicky used charity concert proceeds for “personal purposes.” Things got even messier in February 2021 when Vicky again sued Soundgarden over a buyout price for Chris’ share of the band, leading to a nasty back-and-forth regarding access to the band’s social media accounts.
Hopefully the out-of-court resolution will allow the dust to settle on what was an unfortunate episode — one that was harmful to both the legacies of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell. Stay tuned for news on posthumous music from the Soundgarden camp.