Excerpts from
billboard.com:
Music publisher EverGreen, which owns the catalogs of 2 Live Crew, Third Eye Blind, MC Hammer, Tupac Shakur and others, has signed a deal with WIDEawake, the Canada-based development company that acquired the assets of Death Row Records earlier this year, to be the worldwide administration company of the legendary rap label. As part of a long-term arrangement, EverGreen will administer and handle licensing for all of the compositions and master recordings in the Death Row catalog, as well as the processing of all mechanical and performance royalties in the catalog. "After purchasing the Death Row catalog in January, WIDEawake began looking for a partner to help monetize their rights," David Schulhof, co-CEO of EverGreen, tells Billboard.com. "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 is expected to generate a number of new releases in the near future, like a new album of unreleased Tupac material to commemorate the rapper's June 2010 birthday. The as-yet-untitled album will be distributed by E-1 stateside and EMI overseas. Other forthcoming releases include a collector's edition rerelease of "The Chronic Re-Lit," slated for a September 1, 2009 street date. The album will feature four bonus tracks - all unreleased master from Death Row - plus a DVD with never before seen video footage of Dr. Dre and other artists. WIDEawake/Death Row will also release several box sets this holiday season, including a four CD collection of previously unreleased Death Row master recordings, never before seen images and video footage.
