{"id":338628,"date":"2025-12-10T04:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T04:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/338628\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T04:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T04:11:10","slug":"estates-of-jimi-hendrixs-bandmates-sue-over-streaming-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/338628\/","title":{"rendered":"Estates of Jimi Hendrix\u2019s bandmates sue over streaming rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jimi Hendrix Experience burnt briefly but brightly in mid-Sixties London, and now those acting for two of the deceased band members are lighting up the High Court.<\/p>\n

The estates of the bassist, Noel Redding, and the drummer, Mitch Mitchell, are suing Sony Music Entertainment UK over music streaming rights.<\/p>\n

On the first day of the trial on Tuesday, Mr Justice Edwin Johnson was told that both members of Hendrix\u2019s band \u201cdied in relative poverty\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing at the Marquee Club, London, in 1967<\/p>\n

RAY STEVENSON<\/p>\n

The Redding and Mitchell estates have argued that they are entitled to copyright and performers\u2019 rights on three of the band\u2019s albums: Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland. <\/p>\n

Redding and Mitchell formed the band with Hendrix in 1966, but the group broke up shortly before the Seattle guitarist was found dead from a drug overdose, aged 27, in the basement of a London hotel in 1970.<\/p>\n

Redding died in 2003 in Ireland, aged 57, and Mitchell died in Portland, Oregon, five years later, aged 61.<\/p>\n

\u2022 My brother Jimi Hendrix \u2014 and the dream studio we lost<\/a><\/p>\n

Simon Malynicz KC, representing both estates, said in written submissions that although the band were \u201cone of the most commercially successful acts of its era\u201d, Redding and Mitchell \u201cwere excluded early on in their lifetimes\u201d and \u201cdied in relative poverty\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, the band\u2019s recordings continued to be a \u201clucrative source of revenue\u201d in the streaming era, he said, adding: \u201cSince their passing, their successors, who might normally be entitled to a share of the revenue via these inheritable property rights, have also been excluded throughout.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Noel<\/p>\n

Redding. Below, Mitchell<\/p>\n

MARK KELLEHER<\/p>\n

\"Mitch<\/p>\n

Malynicz emphasised to the court that Hendrix had not financially marginalised the pair, and instead pointed the finger at the administrators of the American guitarist\u2019s estate and the \u201cmultinational which refuses to recognise or remunerate their copyright and performers\u2019 rights\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sony is defending against the claim. Its lawyer, Robert Howe KC, told the court in his written submissions that the producers of the albums owned the original recording copyright, not the musicians.<\/p>\n

He also said both musicians had relinquished their rights to the songs when they were alive. <\/p>\n

\u2022 He liked John Lewis, Corrie and Monopoly \u2014 Jimi Hendrix\u2019s London<\/a><\/p>\n

Howe also referred to claims brought by both in the 1970s in New York, which resulted in separate payments at the time of $100,000 and $247,500.<\/p>\n

The case is expected to conclude on Thursday next week and a judgment is likely to be reserved until a later date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Jimi Hendrix Experience burnt briefly but brightly in mid-Sixties London, and now those acting for two of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-338628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}