LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Music publisher EverGreen, which acquired the assets of Death Row Records, has announced that they are going to re-launch the label in a joint partnership with Canadian-based company WIDEawake. The deal will encompass licensing for all the compositions and masters in Death Row's catalog for mechanical and performance royalties, Billboard reported.
The company will also release previously unreleased tracks by performers such as Tupac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound and repackage older material in new formats such as boxed sets as well as pursuing licensing options for material from Death Row's catalog.
The label will also pursue less traditional publishing formats such as a comic books and graphic novels that will include a CD soundtrack and an animated internet based series.
"After purchasing the Death Row catalog in January, WIDEawake began looking for a partner to help monetize their rights," EverGreen CEO David Schulhof told Billboard "We already had a relationship through the estate of Tupac Shakur; WIDEawake was looking for an exclusive boutique company to help focus on licensing in the film, television, video game and ad world; and because we own the catalogs of Tupac and 2 Live Crew and Teddy Riley and others, they knew we already had experience in the genre. So, it just felt like the obvious choice for them to partner up with us for Death Row."
Death Row was originally founded in 1991 by Marion "Suge" Knight and Dr. Dre (Who soon split from the label) and grew to prominence with a strong catalog of West coast hip-hop. Knight however, developed a reputation for alleged strong-arm tactics. Knight was involved in numerous legal disputes during the late 1990s and early 2000s and eventually Death Row declared bankruptcy in 2005. In January 2009, WIDEawake Entertainment Group acquired Death Row's assets via auction. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
