A British High Court judge has ruled against the heirs of Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell in their bid for royalties from Hendrix's catalog. Judge Edwin Johnson found that a 1966 recording agreement granted ownership to producers, now succeeded by the Hendrix estate and Sony Music. The decision ends a long-running dispute sparked in 2021.
British High Court Judge Edwin Johnson rejected the copyright claims in a 140-page ruling. He determined that on October 11, 1966, Hendrix, Redding, and Mitchell signed an agreement with producers Michael Jeffery and Bryan “Chas” Chandler. The contract clearly stated that producers owned the copyrights to “any sound recordings made hereunder,” including “the copyright throughout the world in all sound recordings of performances of musical works by the artistes.” Johnson described the language as “clear and unequivocal,” with no temporal or territorial limits, and noted it was “difficult to see how this could have been expressed more clearly.” After Hendrix's death in 1970, a series of transactions made the Hendrix estate the ultimate successor to those rights, now associated with Sony Music. The dispute began with a 2021 letter from attorney Lawrence Abramson to Sony on behalf of the heirs, claiming performance royalties from billions of streams worth millions of pounds. Experience Hendrix and Sony filed for a declaratory judgment in Manhattan federal court, but the heirs' competing London lawsuit took priority. The Jimi Hendrix Experience formed in 1966 and disbanded in June 1969 when Redding quit; Mitchell continued sporadically until Hendrix's death at age 27. Redding died in 2003, with his estate passing to his partner Deborah McNaughton and then her sisters. Mitchell died in 2008, leaving his estate to daughter Aysha. Janie Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix and Jimi's sister, welcomed the ruling. “Jimi’s music is more than a catalog — it’s a living piece of our family’s soul, filled with his spirit, his passion, and his truth,” she said. “This decision means we can continue protecting that legacy with the love, care, and integrity it deserves, and ensure his voice is honored for generations to come.” Representatives for the Redding and Mitchell estates could not be reached.