Mitch Mitchell: Last News

A New York court last week paused a lawsuit filed as part of a dispute over the Jimi Hendrix Experience catalogue pending the outcome of litigation related to the same dispute in the London courts. It follows an appeal court ruling in the UK last month which said that the London lawsuit should be allowed to proceed despite the connected legal action in the US.The Jimi Hendrix estate and its label partner Sony Music is on one side in this dispute, with companies representing the estates of the two other members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience – Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – on the other side.The Redding and Mitchell companies claim that they control rights in relation to the Jimi Hendrix Experience recordings catalogue which are being infringed by the Hendrix estate and Sony.But the latter parties counter that, after Hendrix’s death in 1970, both Redding and Mitchell signed agreements in which they gave up any claims to rights and royalties stemming from the Jimi Hendrix Experience in return for “significant monetary consideration”.After lawyers for the Redding and Mitchell companies contacted Sony Music in the UK last year to make their formal claims in relation to the Jimi Hendrix Experience recordings, the Hendrix estate and Sony in the US filed legal proceedings in the New York courts.

Sony Music again this week argued that a copyright dispute with former members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience should be pursued in the courts in New York not London.Lawsuits have been filed on both sides of the Atlantic, but – Sony’s legal rep said – the US case should be prioritised, because the outcome in that will “save time, money and resources” when it comes to the UK litigation.This dispute is between Sony Music and the Jimi Hendrix’s estate on one side, and UK-based companies representing the estates of the other two members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience band – Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – on the other.The latter claim they control rights in relation to the Experience catalogue which are being infringed by the Hendrix estate and its music distribution partner, which is Sony Music.The Hendrix estate counters that, after Hendrix’s death in 1970, both Redding and Mitchell signed agreements via which they basically gave up any copyright or royalty claims in relation to recordings made by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in return for “significant monetary consideration”.Neither Redding nor Mitchell ever subsequently raised any issues with those agreements while they were still alive.But the Redding and Mitchell companies argue that the 1970s agreements didn’t actually see the two musicians assign any rights and only related to revenues generated by the recordings at that time, which obviously didn’t include any digital income.Anticipating that the Redding and Mitchell companies were prepping legal action in the UK, the Hendrix estate and Sony Music filed legal action in New York seeking court confirmation that the 1970s agreements were still in force.

Sony Music last week told the high court in London that a dispute over the rights in the Jimi Hendrix Experience recordings should be heard in the New York courts, because the legal battle centres on agreements signed in the 1970s in the US. And a separate lawsuit in relation to this dispute has already been filed with the courts in New York.The dispute is between Sony Music and the Jimi Hendrix estate on one side, and UK-based companies representing the estates of the other two members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience band – Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – on the other.

The estates of Jimi Hendrix’s one-time collaborators have sued Sony Music UK accusing the major – as the licensee of the Hendrix catalogue – of copyright infringement, while also seeking allegedly unpaid royalties.We knew this dispute was brewing, because last month the Hendrix estate and Sony went to court in New York seeking a declaratory judgement that agreements reached in the 1970s with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – the other two members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience – were still valid and enforceable.Those agreements were negotiated in the years after Hendrix’s death in 1970. In them, Redding and Mitchell basically gave up any copyright or royalty claims in relation to recordings made by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in return for “significant monetary consideration”.

Jimi Hendrix’s former bandmates, bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, who allege copyright infringement.As reported by Variety, the lawsuit has been filed in London’s High Court, with Redding and Mitchell’s heirs seeking royalties and claiming they own a stake in the band’s music.This new lawsuit follows a filing made by Sony Music and the Hendrix estate in a Manhattan federal court last month, which states that the estates of Redding and Mitchell do not have the right to sue them for copyright claims.This came after Sony Music received a letter in December from British lawyer, Lawrence Abramson, which noted that the label owed Redding and Mitchell’s estates performance royalties for roughly 3billion streams of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s songs.However, a lawyer for Sony Music and Hendrix’s estate alleged that both Mitchell and Redding signed away any rights to the music in the early 1970s. Abramson argued in response that “none of the parties would have been able to foresee or contemplate” the digital media revenue at the time of signing.The new UK-based lawsuit seeks a declaration of copyright ownership in the musical works, sound recordings and performers rights, and damages as well as an account of profits plus interest on that figure and legal costs.Hendrix died in September 1970.

K.J. Yossman Heirs of Jimi Hendrix’s former bandmates, bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, have filed a lawsuit against Sony Music in the U.K., alleging copyright infringement and seeking royalties.The filing, in London’s High Court, follows an application for a legal declaration made by Sony Music and the Hendrix estate in a Manhattan federal court last month that would pre-emptively exonerate them of all legal claims.Hendrix soared to fame in the 1960s after teaming up with British musicians Redding and Mitchell (pictured above with Hendrix, left and right, respectively) to form the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Jimi Hendrix has filed a lawsuit claiming that the estates representing his late Jimi Hendrix Experience bandmates, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, do not have the right to sue them for copyright claims.Dorothy Weber, the lawyer representing Experience Hendrix, LLC and Sony Music Entertainment, filed the suit on Tuesday (January 18) in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York.According to Rolling Stone, it comes after a letter Sony Music received in December from British lawyer, Lawrence Abramson, in which he claimed the label owed Redding and Mitchell’s estates performance royalties for roughly 3billion streams of the Experience’s songs.Abramson didn’t specify an amount they were looking for but did say that “such streaming figures and sales is estimated to be in the millions of pounds”. He added: “Ignoring this letter may lead our clients to commence proceedings against you and may increase your liability for costs.”The letter prompted Weber to take acton on behalf of Experience Hendrix and Sony, who claimed they were unable to be sued by the defendants because both Experience members previously signed waivers.Weber has alleged that Mitchell signed a document in September 1974 releasing the Hendrix estate from legal claims and agreeing not to sue the Hendrix estate. She’s claimed that Redding, too, signed a similar document in April 1973.

The Jimi Hendrix estate and Sony Music have filed legal papers with the courts in New York seeking a declaratory judgement that agreements reached with other members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the early 1970s are still in force. The move follows threats in the UK by the estates of those former Experience members – Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – to sue for supposedly unpaid royalties.The agreements that the New York courts are being asked to confirm were signed by Redding and Mitchell in 1973 and 1974 respectively, and were the result of negotiations that occurred following Hendrix’s death in 1970.Under those agreements, Redding and Mitchell basically gave up any copyright or royalty claims in relation to recordings made by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in return for “significant monetary consideration”.

Jimi Hendrix documentary Music, Money, Madness … Jimi Hendrix in Maui has been released, featuring a performance of ‘Foxey Lady’.The film is set to include footage of the late guitarist’s outdoor concert at foot of the Haleakala volcano in Maui, including the ‘Foxey Lady’ performance, which you can watch below:As seen in the clip, Hendrix forgets some of the words to the song, compensating with some of his signature tricks like playing with his teeth.Technical difficulties during the performance meant drummer Mitch Mitchell had to overdub his tracks in 1971 at Electric Lady Studios, the year after Hendrix’ death.Engineer Eddie Kramer said in a statement, “[Mitchell] was determined to fix what suffered on the recordings due to the