Vicky Cornell Sues Soundgarden Over Allegedly Unpaid Royalties, Unreleased Recordings

According to Vicky Cornell, the members of Soundgarden are withholding royalties in an attempt “strong-arm Chris’ Estate into turning over” the recordings in question. These are likely the demo recordings that have also been referenced by Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil in multiple interviews about the possibility of releasing a Soundgarden album that was apparently in progress when the singer died. “We tried to get this going two years ago, but we’re not in possession of any of the demos that Chris was working on with them,” Thayil said in an interview in July. “We have copies of them, but what we need are the files, so that we’d be able to overdub and finish the record. We are not in possession of those.”

In her lawsuit, Vicky Cornell claims that the recordings in question were “solely authored by Chris; contain Chris’ own vocal tracks; and were bequeathed to Chris’ Estate,” despite the band’s claims that the recordings were made as part of a collaborative Soundgarden project.

Vicky Cornell also accused Soundgarden of engaging in “pressure tactics, harassment, unlawful conversion of royalties, and extortion” in addition riling the band’s “rabid fanbase” by suggesting that she is blocking the release of a final Soundgarden album. The full complaint can be read here.