Following her claims during an interview last week that “her other legal wranglings were solved” Universal Music have officially confirmed they have reached a settlement with Courtney Love, meaning the last hurdle towards a Nirvana best of and rarities album has been crossed. The dispute between Universal and Love centred on her band Hole’s record contract. In 2000 Universal sued Love for failing to deliver five of the seven albums Hole were contracted to record. Love countersued a year later, claiming hers and other seven-year contracts were unfair. She complicated matters further by later claiming ownership of the Nirvana tapes, saying Geffen’s contract with Cobain no longer stood after the label was acquired by the Universal group.
This truce sees Love getting out of her contract commitments, though Universal will receive a share of any royalties from future Hole releases. More importantly they now have the green light to release a Nirvana greatest hits and rarities album – especially since Love cleared up her other disagreements with former Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic last week. Label bosses now expect to have a basic best of album out in the US on 12 Nov, including the unreleased track ‘You Know You’re Right’ which was played by Xfm and Radio 1 after surfacing on the internet last week. Other Nirvana releases should follow.