Judge Awards Dr. Dre 100% Profits for ‘The Chronic’

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder ruled in favor of Dr. Dre over unpaid profits from digital sales of his 1992 album, The Chronic. Dr. Dre and his legal team fought an uphill battle with the label [Death Row] he was most associated with and once co-owned. According to his attorney, Howard King, WideAwake/Death Row Records were unauthorized to sell digital versions of The Chronic. Also, the company was cited for improperly selling Dre’s music by mixing his hits with weaker Death Row tracks in hopes to boost the popularity of their other artists.

“For years, Death Row Records forgot about Dre when they continued to distribute his music digitally and combined his hits with weaker Death Row tracks in an attempt to elevate the stature of their other artists. We are gratified that the federal court has unambiguously declared that Death Row has no right to engage in such tactics, and must hold all proceeds from these illicit distributions in trust for our client.”

Judge Snyder awarded Dr. Dre 100 percent of the rights to digital sales of The Chronic.

WideAwake maintains its right to sell The Chronic. In 2014, WideAwake purchased Death Row Records from its bankruptcy.