US company Global Music has revealed it paid $24 million to acquire the assets of legendary hip hop label Death Row Records.
As previously reported, Global acquired the Death Row catalogue and other assets at the end of June in a multi-million dollar deal done via the bankruptcy courts. The label went up for sale after its founder, controversial hip hop mogul Suge Knight, declared himself bankrupt in 2006, following legal disputes with the label's co-founders, who argued they were owed their cut of the company's profits.
Independent label Global will look to recoup on their investment by re-releasing classic hip hop albums in the Death Row catalogue, including early works by Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, as well as searching the hip hop outfit's archives for previously unreleased recordings, of which there are thought to be plenty, especially from the late Shakur. That said, some reckon Knight's management of the label was so slack the actual ownership of some of those recordings will be disputed, making releasing the archives time consuming and tricky.
Confirming for the first time what he paid for the label, Global Music CEO Anthony Davi Jr said he planned to get "the best economic results of the catalogue and provide long term stewardship of the artists' work".