The fate of Death Row Records continues to hang in the balance as independent record label Koch Records positions itself to buy the once influential West Coast rap label.
The New York Post reports that Koch is one of two companies who stand the best chance of purchasing Death Row.
The other company, Evergreen Copyrights, made its presence known in May by purchasing the writer’s share of Death Row rapper Tupac Shakur’s music catalog.
Although the music publisher and Koch are in the running to obtain Death Row, two sources involved in the process told The Post that the sale of the label remains stalled in light of outstanding claims from producer Dr. Dre and Afeni Shakur.
Dre’s claim is over royalty payments pertaining to his classic Death Row release The Chronic.
Afeni Shakur’s dispute with the embattled label involves the question of who owns the rights to unreleased music by her son Tupac.
Death Row controls the rights to roughly 10,000 master tracks.
In addition to the outstanding claims, the sources revealed that confusion exists among buyers as to what assets Death Row founder Marion “Suge” Knight still holds over the label.
The circumstances surrounding the sale and assets are latest in a series of events surrounding Death Row since the label filed for bankruptcy in April 2006, listing $137 million in debt and just $4.4 million in assets.
Sources estimate that Death Row will get less than $20 million on net revenue of roughly $2 million.
