One
lucky person could walk away with the full rights to their own Public Enemy album,
as a live disc by the legendary group is scheduled to be auctioned off Oct. 26
by Ocean Tomo, an intellectual property asset management firm. The
24-track set was recorded in Helsinki, Finland, during Public Enemy’s 1999 European
tour, and is part of a 1992 settlement that arose from a lawsuit in the Supreme
Court of the State of New York.In
1999, Public Enemy producer Hank Shocklee and frontman Chuck D were ordered to
pay PPX Enterprises over $100,000 in back royalties, attorney fees, and accounting
costs over failure to pay royalties."It’s
not actually Chuck D that’s selling the album," Ocean Tomo’s Wendy Chou explained
to AllHipHop.com. "PPX owns the rights, title and interest, and ownership
in this album. Chuck D does not own this album. The person who wins the bid, or
who buys the album will receive the digital master recording, the original artwork,
and all associated rights."The
live album, which features Public Enemy group member and TV star Flavor Flav,
includes renditions of many classic PE songs including "Fight the Power,"
"Bring the Noise," "Can’t Truss It," "911 Is a Joke,"
and "Night of the Living Baseheads."PPX
Enterprises is a Manhattan-based production company best known for its 36-year
legal war over early recordings of superstar guitarist Jimi Hendrix that started
shortly after the singer died.Ocean
Tomo will manage the auction of the Public Enemy rights, as well as an auction
by Hendrix, who signed a one-page agreement with the company in 1965.Over
15,000 Hendrix assets will be auctioned off with the Public Enemy live album on
Oct. 26 at the Capitale in New York.
