Parashar insists the 1991 album belongs to him.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Chris Cornell has lifted his silence and weighed in on a dispute over who owns the master tapes to the 1991 album, “Temple of the Dog,” which was recorded by a super group comprised of Soundgarden’s Cornell and Matt Cameron and Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and on a few tracks, Eddie Vedder.
A&M Records sued Rajan Parashar, co-founder of London Bridge Studios, in state court last month, demanding he turn over the tapes, and Parashar had the case transferred to federal court last week. His lawyer confirmed to The Seattle Times that Parashar has the tapes, but said they belonged to him.
His brother, Rick Parashar, was the co-owner of the studio and also produced the album (as well as Pearl Jam’s debut, “Ten”).
According to the litigation, Rick Parashar initially produced Temple of the Dog after implementing a verbal agreement with the band. The lawsuit claims that a deal was signed in 1993 in which Rick Parashar agreed to turn over the master tapes and all rights to A&M for $35,000. Rajan Parashar’s attorney, however, says that his client was not part of any agreement between his brother and A&M.
The record label “believed the artists to be in possession of the master recordings” until May 2013, when “a representative of the artists contacted A&M and informed A&M that [Rajan Parashar] and Rick Parashar” had them.
Cornell tweeted his response to the lawsuit, saying, “It’s sad when something you hold sacred becomes the object of a desperate money grab.”
Added Cornell in a statement: “A&M Records paid for the recordings and the use of the studio,” he said. For Parashar “to pretend he has a right to keep the recordings makes no more sense than the owner of a laundromat claiming he owns the clothes you washed in his washing machine,” he added.