How much are Soundgarden’s assets worth? That is the question that Vicky Cornell and the three members of the band do not seem to agree on, and that, for the moment, is preventing a potential new album from seeing the light in the future.
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Yesterday it emerged that Chris Cornell’s widow had filed a new lawsuit against Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd in a Seattle courthouse on Tuesday. According to various media, the reason would be the offer of $ 278,000 that the three musicians would have made to acquire the rights of the deceased singer over the assets of the group, which, according to Vicky, would include potential earnings from merchandising and future tours with a new singer or a hologram.
According to the complaint, Cornell advisers consider that “The figure is maliciously low” and that “It doesn’t even reach the royalties generated by the Soundgarden masters that Vicky received only in 2018”. They also allege that the offer made by the musicians came after an investor offered to buy those masters for 16 million dollars.
Vicky Cornell’s anger would also have to do with the fact that Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd had rejected the offers she made to them in December of last year to acquire their rights. A first of 12 million dollars, and a second of 21 million.
For all these reasons, Vicky Cornell is now seeking a judge to determine the fair value of the band’s assets.
We will have to see how this legal war ends, but since the widow is in possession of the vocal and instrumental tracks that Chris Cornell recorded for a potential seventh Soundgarden album (she also claims they were for a solo album), and that the rest The group does not have access to them, at the moment the possibility that one day they may finish it seems very remote.
But while the two sides accuse each other of only worrying about money, one thing is clear: the fans are the ones who keep losing.
