Island Def Jam Music
Group CEO Lyor Cohen won a judgment yesterday, dramatically reducing the amount
Cohen was ordered to pay for allegedly blocking the release of an album featuring
Ja Rule on TVT Records.
On March 21, an
8 person jury in Manhattan federal court found Cohen personally liable for fraud
and willful copyright infringement for blocking the release of The Cash Money
Cliq. TVT was awarded $132 million dollars, $56 million of which Cohen was to
be held accountable for.
Cohen’s punitive
damages were cut from $56 million dollars to $3 million, while Def Jam was ordered
to pay $50 million dollars in punitive damages, as opposed to the original $108
million.
Cohen’s attorney,
Matthew Dontzin, said that any judgment against his client was doomed to failure
and that he would appeal the decision.
Island Def Jam
is a unit of Vivendi/Universal. Yesterday, Vivendi’s chairman Doug Morris announced
a price cutting initiative, reducing the amount of CD’s starting as early as
October 1st.
Titles that are
retailing for $16.98 and $18.98 will be dropped to $12.98, in an effort to jump
start the stagnant sales of CD’s.
"We strongly
believe that when the prices are dramatically reduced on so many titles, we
will drive consumers back to stores and significantly bolster music sales,"
Morris said in a statement.