I'm gonna drop this and run!!

skittles

I know most people have already heard about this but here it goes...

An Open Letter To Nirvana Fans From Krist Novoselic And Dave Grohl

Dear Nirvana Fans,

We are writing with a sense of appreciation and thanks to all of you for your support and enthusiasm over the last decade. As many of you know, for this Christmas, we had planned to give our fans a wonderful gift -- a boxed set of the best of Nirvana's music. Released to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Nevermind, the set was going to include "You Know You're Right," recorded in 1994 just before Kurt's death. This project had been in the works for nearly five years. But this collection never came out. And there is only one reason: Courtney Love.

Today, our attorneys went into a Seattle court to stop Courtney from trying to take control of the legacy of Nirvana. We had no choice but to respond to her misguided campaign and lawsuits to appropriate the music of Nirvana.

We have been mostly silent for the last few years as she filed lawsuits, waged a continuous negative campaign in the media, and tried to rewrite history. It is now time to act and speak out. Here is some background.

When Kurt was alive, Nirvana was an equal partnership of the three of us. After Kurt's death in 1994, the partnership continued and we fulfilled what we saw as our obligation to preserve the legacy of Nirvana's music. We oversaw the releases of Live in New York and From the Muddy Banks of Wishkah, both of which were critical and commercial successes. We enhanced rather than exploited the memory and image of Nirvana.

In September, 1997, we decided to set down some rules by which we could make decisions together. We formed Nirvana L.L.C. ('limited liability corporation'), with equal representation from Dave, Krist and the Cobain Estate, ultimately represented by Courtney. Our agreement is structured so that each of the members can voice his or her opinion on any matter. Courtney's interest in the L.L.C. is that of representative of the Estate of Kurt Cobain. The fact is that Nirvana L.L.C. makes the decisions about the band, not Courtney nor any other individual. Our agreement has served all three parties well.

In 1998, we decided together to produce a great boxed set and include "You Know You're Right." All of the members of Nirvana, including Courtney, made and signed a deal with Geffen Records for its release. This February, Courtney filed the first of multiple lawsuits against her and Nirvana's label (Geffen Records / Universal Music Group) over her personal recording contract for the group Hole.

As for the boxed set, everything was on track, we were very excited and were busy promoting the release to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Nevermind. Then, in May, Courtney filed a lawsuit to take over control of Nirvana, then went to court to block the release of the never before released track, "You Know You're Right." Courtney claims that her lawsuit is concerned with the proper management and revitalization of Kurt's legacy. In truth, her actions are only about the revitalization of her career motivated solely by her blind self-interest. She couldn't care less about Nirvana fans. She is using Nirvana's music as a bargaining chip to increase leverage for her personal gain, without any regard for the Nirvana legacy. Our music is just a pawn in her endless legal battles and her obsessive need for publicity and attention.

Courtney talks and talks about her "valuable career." As far as we are concerned, her career is her own affair and of no interest to us. Our concern is when she pastes herself into music she didn't write or perform. By her actions, the Nirvana legacy is becoming tangled up in her own ambitious agenda. We have a simple challenge for Courtney -- play your own music for people.

We miss our dear friend Kurt. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with such a gifted artist. We hope that our actions, in regards to Nirvana, are befitting of the stature that so many people have granted us.

We will always be proud of the music we made with Nirvana. We were looking forward to releasing unheard Nirvana material for our personal sense of closure. As the cycle of life moves forward, we are each living our own lives and moving on to new things. We only wanted to go on with the assurance of knowing that all of Nirvana's music is where it really belongs; in the hearts and minds of millions of people in the world.

We hope that the music of Nirvana will be immortal and, with fans like you, we are confident our hopes will be realized.



Letter To Kurt Cobain/Nirvana Fans From The Family Of Kurt Cobain(courtney)

What should have been a private business negotiation has become a very public lawsuit. There are many issues that were left unresolved after Kurt's death that we're finally trying to put in order.

Other parties have talked about finding "a personal sense of closure" with Nirvana's music.

That's exactly the opposite of what should happen. We want to celebrate Kurt's life and music and make sure Nirvana finds as large an audience as possible. We want future generations of music fans to give the band its rightful place alongside the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan.

Kurt's legacy should have impact for generations to come and we want the world to focus on his accomplishments and his gifts.

Kurt Cobain was Nirvana. He named the band, hired its members, played guitar, wrote the songs, fronted the band onstage and in interviews and took responsibility for the band's business decisions.

Kurt Cobain wrote almost all of Nirvana's music. Over 93% of the band's song copyrights are in his name.

There is a large trove of unreleased tapes that deserve a proper release, tapes that include several songs that neither Krist nor Dave have ever heard.

Krist and Dave made an enormous musical contribution to Nirvana's success and they have been exceptionally well paid for that contribution and will continue to earn royalties from the catalog's success.

Kurt Cobain refused to sign a partnership agreement with the other members of Nirvana when he was alive, so any claims that the band was a "partnership" are at best revisionist history.

The partnership agreement that exists now was forced upon Kurt's heirs. The family signed it after attorneys threatened them with a Washington law that supposedly would have required the family to turn over all interest in Nirvana to Krist and Dave.

That assertion was untrue, but the threat was used to deprive the family of its rights to manage Kurt's legacy.

The "partnership" has proved to be unworkable and we're addressing the situation now to make sure the next Nirvana releases are of the quality the fans deserve and that future generations of Kurt's family have control of the family name.

In their press release, Krist and Dave have distorted the real issues with unwarranted and spurious personal attacks. Under United States law, Kurt's interests pass to his heirs who then have the responsibility for overseeing his interests.

Finally, we'd like to offer very sincere and heartfelt advice to everyone who's in a band: Take care of your business. Make sure you know what the contracts say and that your copyrights are in order. Remember that the lawyers and the managers and the accountants are your employees and that their job is to represent your interests.

We look forward to many years of great releases from Kurt and Nirvana. We wish Krist and Dave great success in their current careers and hope they will soon leave control of Kurt's legacy to his rightful heirs.

Thanks for your support and your patience.

Regards,
:mad:

Zaphod Beeblebrox

Nirvana tis a sad story.

Though while Hole is complete ****e and Courtney has as much talent as a lobotomised blind hamster, she's less the evil spawn of satan and more of a silly cow.

I just wanna pick up on the whole "Courtney killed Kurt" thing. Tis silly. She didn't kill Kurt and cover it up, he killed himself and covered the wall with brains. He just didn't like the way his life way and the way the world was, I mean listen to Nirvana its hardly cheerful optimistic stuff is it? You could kinda see it ending in a breakdown and/or suicide before long.

skittles

I'm surprised nobody seems to have an opinion on this one..
But yeah I reckon Kurt did it himself, however I doubt she was much of an obstacle when it came to taking his life(putting it lightly). Back to the subject of the letters, I could really see Courtney using Nirvana as leverage for her own career. And her letter clearly shows that she aint gonna keep the integrity of the Nirvana legacy. Think of the sloppy aftermath of Hendrix with some producers literally piecing songs together from the cutting room floor. what about Jeff Buckley's Sketches for my sweetheart the drunk. wonderful 'n all but who can listen to the second CD without feeling guilty. We don't need the same from Kurt!!

Uncle Neddy

I know it's the season of goodwill but Courtney Love is a total kunndt.