Dr. Dre is reportedly looking to cash out $250 million from the sale of his music-related assets.
Billboard reported that Shamrock Holdings and Universal Music Group are acquiring the assets in two separate deals; together, they are worth nearly $10 million per year.
Peter Paterno of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano has been Dr. Dre’s attorney for a long time, and he is said to have shopped the deals, which have been rumored for weeks but are now reportedly close to closing.
A source close to Dre confirmed the report, saying the final sale price is likely to be below the $250 million asking price, but well above $200 million. Representatives for the firm, Dre, Universal, and Shamrock either declined or did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment.
Artist royalties from two solo albums and his share of N.W.A. artist royalties are said to be included, as well as producer royalties and the writer’s share of his song catalog in cases where he does not own publishing, which could include songs from his breakthrough album “The Chronic,” released in 1993.
According to Billboard’s sources, Shamrock (which owns some Taylor Swift master recordings) is buying this stake, which includes 75% to 90% of the package’s revenue, and UMG is buying the remaining 10% to 25%.
UMG has expressed interest in purchasing Dr. Dre’s assets, which could include the master recording of “The Chronic,” which is set to revert to Dre from Death Row Entertainment (which was recently acquired by Dre’s protégé Snoop Dogg last year) in August of this year, as well as his share of an Aftermath/Interscope joint venture with the Top Dawg label for Kendrick Lamar releases through that deal. Specifically, it does not include his share of Aftermath, the record label he co-owns with Interscope Records, his longtime label home at UMG.
