Legal Fight Brews Over Temple Of The Dog Master Tapes
The short-lived grunge supergroup Temple Of The Dog have reunited a few times live since the band members went their separate ways as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, but they still only have the one self-titled album to their name. And it turns out that the master recordings for that record are currently tied up in a legal dispute. The Seattle Times reports that A&M Records, who released Temple Of The Dog in 1991 and reissued it the following year, has sued Rajan Parashar, co-founder of Seattle’s London Bridge Studios where the band recorded the album.
The label was apparently under the impression that the band had held onto the master tapes until 2013 when “a representative of the artists contacted A&M and informed A&M that [Rajan Parashar] and Rick Parashar” had them in their possession. Rajan Parashar’s brother Rick ran the London Bridge recording studios — where he acted as producer on albums from acts like Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Blind Melon, and Dinosaur Jr. — but he died last year. A&M says that they paid Rick Parashar for the ownership and rights to the master tapes back in 1993 for $35,000, though Parashar’s attorney says that Rajan was not part of any such agreement, and added that Parashar has “had them all along” because “they’re his.”
A&M’s lawsuit demands that Parashar hand over the tapes immediately, and cover the costs for damages and legal fees.
UPDATE: The tapes have finally been returned:
Temple of the Dog masters returned today. History made whole 25 years later! pic.twitter.com/4A54Q67pXV
— Chris Cornell (@chriscornell) May 24, 2016