Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com » Death Row

The Circle Of Life (And Death Row)

Maura — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:45:00 +0000

CD duplication company MediaTechnics has signed a letter of intent to purchase Global Media Group, the company that acquired the assets of Death Row Records after the label fell into bankruptcy. Global Music Group paid $24 million for Death Row’s assets back in June. Meanwhile, Death Row founder Marion “Suge” Knight was thrown into jail on assault and drug charges after “beating his girlfriend while brandishing a knife” in Las Vegas; he’s since been released after posting $19,000 bail. I’m guessing he won’t be sending MediaTechnics a resume. [Variety / MTV]

The Lady Of Rage Catalog Might Be Up For Grabs Again

Dan Gibson — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:30:00 +0000

The somewhat dubious Global Music Group seems to have lost the rights to purchase Death Row Records, largely because they didn’t come up with the $24 million they pledged. The Global Music Group, which is apparently owned by esthetician Susan Berg, claims the entire thing is a negotiating tactic of some sort, which seems somewhat like when people try to haggle the checkout person at Target for a discount. (I fully admit that it may be more complicated than I think.) Somehow, a group that includes actor/singer/annoyance Jamie Foxx is involved and may cough up money to help GMG or to purchase the catalog outright, but right now it seems like the once-proud Death Row catalog will be sitting on the “For Sale” shelf for a while. [FMQB]

Death Row Records Bought By One Of Three Global Music Groups

anthonyjmiccio — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:40:00 +0000

The rights to Death Row Records, which were auctioned off after Suge Knight’s bankruptcy, were purchased by Susan Berg of the Global Music Group, according to TMZ. And what is the Global Music Group again? Well, there are currently two Web sites bearing said name. One is a French label that releases techno albums, so we can assume it’s not owned by former esthetician Susan Berg. The other’s rather low-rent site opens with “CONGRADULATIONS!!! DEATH ROW RECORDS was acquired today by GLOBAL MUSIC GROUP for $25 million dollars. GLOBAL MUSIC GROUP, A MULTI GENRE LABEL WITH OVER 30 YEARS IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS.” So we can assume that we should be giving “congrads” to this company. But how could a company with $25 million to burn also be the home of Davey Johnson, best known for touring as Frankie Goes To Hollywood and falsely claiming to be Holly Johnson’s brother? Questions, questions.

Johnson, whose exploits with a fake Frankie Goes To Hollywood were chronicled almost a decade ago in SPIN and Pollstar, is listed alongside Janet Martin, Jayce Martin and ClutterHouse on the Global Music Group’s artist roster (typos theirs).

Davey was born in Mobile Alabama but Raised in Mannheim Germany. At the age of 15 Davey was an accomplished musician playing Keyboards, Guitar, Bass, Drums, and a Singer Song writer. From the age of 15 thru 17 Davey was a studio musician at the World renowned basement studios in Frankfort Germany.

Davey has played Bass, Keyboards, and a Singer on tour with several artist including:

Whitney Houston
Anita Baker
Tina Marie
Michael Jackson
UFO
Kyper
Stevie B
Haddaway
Information Society
Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Davey has been a studio musician for many years and recorded on over 100 albums.

Today Davey has been working on several projects including recording his new album with producer David Longoria (Sting, U2, George Michaels, ect.)

So is this the Global Music Group that spent $25 million on Death Row Records? Do ’80s flashback concerts in Alabama really pay that much, or are they just “congradulating” a new company that coincidentally shares the same name? (The name “Susan Berg” is nowhere to be found on the site.) It wouldn’t be the first time Johnson has tried to exploit other people’s successes, after all.

This Woman Now Owns Suge Knight’s Ass [TMZ]

If You’ve Got More Than $25 Million, You Could Be The Next Suge Knight

Jess Harvell — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:30:05 +0000

Suge Knight’s obviously suffered his share of legal and personal and zip code-related indignities lately, but at least he hopes to soon be one step closer to putting the tarnished legacy of Death Row Records behind him. R. Todd Neilson, who’s overseeing the Chapter 11 proceedings for the label that’s still home to certain master tapes by marquee names like Snoop Dogg, has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles to put everything Death Row has left on the auction block, and though you’ll need to be able to match the $25 million Warner Music Group has already offered, just look at what you’ll win if you can find an extra million hiding under the couch.

Besides the rights to music recordings, the assets for sale include videos, master copies of recordings, merchandising rights and inventory.

Neilson said he and Richard K. Diamond, who is administering Knight’s bankruptcy estate, would determine how to distribute the sale proceeds between the two estates, subject to the bankruptcy court’s approval.

Neilson proposed that potential bidders submit their offers by April 11 for an April 24 auction. He asked that the court give final approval to the sale at a May 12 hearing.

Competing bidders must initially exceed Warner’s offer by at least $1 million, and subsequent bids must increase by increments of at least $100,000, Neilson requested. He wants to pay Warner a break-up fee of $500,000 plus reimbursement of up to $250,000 in expenses if its bid doesn’t win at auction.

Yes, for the minimal outlay of a quarter of a tenth of a billion dollars, you could be psychologically terrorizing Robert Van Winkle, having minions pen Dr. Dre diss tracks, and getting the prime time stink eye from C. DeLores Tucker by May 13! Knight and his court-appointed bankruptcy team have asked for a “yay” or “nay” decision on the auction to be rendered by the end of February, so start taking those Canadian pennies to Coinstar now.

Warner Music Wants Death Row Assets [AP via CNNMoney]

Tupac’s Dear Mama Steps To Death Row

jharv — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 04:34:40 +0000

Tupac’s mom, Afeni Shakur, is trying to smack down Death Row Records for using unreleased Pac songs to pull itself back into the black. Lawyers for the world’s most productive dead guy discovered the lost tapes during Death Row’s recent bankruptcy woes and said that they were “being advertised to potential buyers as the jewel in the crown of the Death Row assets,” despite the fact that any Tupac-related work materials should have reverted to Afeni Shakur’s Amaru Entertainment. No response yet from broke dude and finger biter Suge Knight. (Also, kudos to the Guardian on a most excellent bad headline pun. I’m actually a little jealous.)

Death Row Told Tupac It In [The Guardian]

Suge Knight Has Reached The End Of The Row

Brian Raftery — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:05:11 +0000

According to today’s Page Six, Suge Knight is closing down Death Row Records, the former home of 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, and, of course, Crooked I:

In an exclusive interview, Marion “Suge” Knight, 42, told Page Six he’s ready to pull the plug on the label he founded in 1991. His change of direction occurred after he made two visits to the City of Refuge Church, near his hometown of Compton, near L.A., where preachers Noel Jones and T.D. Jakes eerily gave him the same message.

“You’ve got to be able to let the past go, and move forward to the future,” he quoted Jones as saying. Two weeks later, Knight heard Jakes, who was visiting from Texas, say, “You can’t keep living in the past. God gives you a chance to move on.”

Knight says, “They talked about the same thing, and it felt like they were talking straight to me. I don’t want to be tied up with this for years. I want to move on with my life in a more positive direction.”

Congratulations to Knight for discovering God–and for not trying to force him into a five-album deal with a baseball bat. But it’s probably not too hard for the Death Row honcho to move on, as his label hasn’t put out a relevant album since 1996,* and he’s better known these days for his legal woes than his “producing” skills. We await his inevtable comeback as a special guest motivator on Celebrity Fit Club: Suge In The Raw.

SUGE SET TO BURY DEATH ROW [Page Six]

* Tha Doggfather. We didn’t say “good,” just “relevant.”

Suge Knight Prepares To Dangle This Headline From A 30th-Floor Hotel Balcony

Brian Raftery — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 01:55:23 +0000

The Smoking Gun has the details on Nate Dogg’s lawsuit against Death Row records and Marion “Suge” Knight, the papers for which were filed last month in Los Angeles. Claiming to be “one of the most recognizable names in urban music”–maybe he means his last name?–Nate Dogg alleges that Death Row has denied him royalties, and that he was threatened with violence whenever he approached them for money. He’s seeking $10 million, and probably time in the witness-protection program.

Rapper: Suge Knight Screwed Me [The Smoking Gun]