Music mogul and super producer Dr. Dre filed papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008, in Los Angeles asking for documents from Death Row Records to help him determine the amount of unpaid royalties that the company owes him.
According to the Associated Press, the producer (real name: Andre Young) is asking for permission to obtain this information under Rule 2004 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which allows bankruptcy judges to order companies to turn over documents related to their assets, liabilities and financial affairs.
Dre has filed several lawsuits against the label over royalties from his 1992 solo debut, The Chronic. His last was in August 2007, claiming he was the rightful owner to the rights of the album, after the label's control was turned over to the courts.
In January 2007, the AP reports that a California district court agreed to hear his appeal of the bankruptcy court's dismissal of one of those suits.
Dre, who helped Marion "Suge" Knight start Death Row in 1991 initially holding a 50 percent ownership stake in the label, granted Death Row a license to distribute this album in exchange for royalties. In 1996, however, he agreed to surrender his ownership interest in the label, but retained his right to continue to receive royalties for all recordings released prior to the agreement.
He claims Death Row hasn't held up its end of the agreement and further broke the contract by granting another company distribution rights to his recordings.
The court-appointed administrator running the record label's bankruptcy estate recently asked to sell Death Row's music-related assets to Warner Music Group Corp. for $25 million, subject to higher bids at auction. The sale includes The Chronic as well as several compilation albums featuring Dr. Dre's recordings, and Young also wants access to documents related to the marketing and sale efforts.
Dre, in the papers filed on Tuesday, asked the bankruptcy court to order Death Row to hand over the documents by February 29th, and its representatives to be available for deposition on March 7th.
Knight filed bankruptcy to maintain control of the label in April 2006, but eventually lost the battle when a federal judge ordered a bankruptcy trustee to take over control of the label in July 2006.
The label was once one of the industry's most successful, boasting a roster that once included Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
Source: BallerStatus.com
According to the Associated Press, the producer (real name: Andre Young) is asking for permission to obtain this information under Rule 2004 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which allows bankruptcy judges to order companies to turn over documents related to their assets, liabilities and financial affairs.
Dre has filed several lawsuits against the label over royalties from his 1992 solo debut, The Chronic. His last was in August 2007, claiming he was the rightful owner to the rights of the album, after the label's control was turned over to the courts.
In January 2007, the AP reports that a California district court agreed to hear his appeal of the bankruptcy court's dismissal of one of those suits.
Dre, who helped Marion "Suge" Knight start Death Row in 1991 initially holding a 50 percent ownership stake in the label, granted Death Row a license to distribute this album in exchange for royalties. In 1996, however, he agreed to surrender his ownership interest in the label, but retained his right to continue to receive royalties for all recordings released prior to the agreement.
He claims Death Row hasn't held up its end of the agreement and further broke the contract by granting another company distribution rights to his recordings.
The court-appointed administrator running the record label's bankruptcy estate recently asked to sell Death Row's music-related assets to Warner Music Group Corp. for $25 million, subject to higher bids at auction. The sale includes The Chronic as well as several compilation albums featuring Dr. Dre's recordings, and Young also wants access to documents related to the marketing and sale efforts.
Dre, in the papers filed on Tuesday, asked the bankruptcy court to order Death Row to hand over the documents by February 29th, and its representatives to be available for deposition on March 7th.
Knight filed bankruptcy to maintain control of the label in April 2006, but eventually lost the battle when a federal judge ordered a bankruptcy trustee to take over control of the label in July 2006.
The label was once one of the industry's most successful, boasting a roster that once included Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
Source: BallerStatus.com
