Sony Music Entertainment isn’t firing Dr. Luke, according to a statement just issued by the producer’s lawyer. The statement, from attorney Christine Lapera, is as follows:
“This is not true. Luke has an excellent relationship with Sony. His representatives are in regular contact with executives at the highest levels at Sony and this has never come up.”
The clarification comes amidst rumors that Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald) was being dismissed by the major label based on heightening rape allegations involving pop star Kesha. Specifically, a report in rumor-mongering The Wrap cited a source as saying that Luke was getting sacked because of the Kesha imbroglio. “There is no contest,” the source relayed. “Kesha has no case in regards to her contract but they can’t afford the Adeles of the world out in the streets calling the label unsupportive.”
“The fact that this hasn’t already been taken care of with Luke is confusing, especially for people in the building.”
The rape accusations dial back to 2014, when Kesha first filed suit against Dr. Luke. The producer quickly countersued, and neither side has budged since.
Luke has maintained his complete innocence from the beginning, though Kesha has played ringleader for a shame circus that is now intensifying. That has been amplified by a storm of Kesha fans, who just recently submitted a petition to Sony demanding Luke’s removal. The petition was coupled with a protest outside of Sony Music headquarters on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, one of several public gatherings by fans.
In total, the petition carried more than 400,000 signatures.
Importantly, a judge hasn’t yet ruled on the matter, which leaves the distinct possibility that Luke is completely innocent. Indeed, Gottwald himself has recently spoken out against the accusations, noting that no sexual interaction — coerced or otherwise — has transpired between the two. Regardless of those protests, mega-stars like Adele and Taylor Swift have rallied to Kesha’s aid, with Swift donating $250,000 to the singer’s legal fund.
Kesha has been accused of using the rape allegations and the surrounding bad publicity to extricate herself from her Sony Music Entertainment contract. Sony has responded that it doesn’t have to ability to terminate the deal, and offered to accommodate the pop singer’s request to work with another producer.
Dr. Luke, the beloved man of Doug Morris, the King of the lost house will be saved!
Yet Sony, et.al. IS going after Universal Music Group parent Vivendi via Radionomy for outright non payment of a colossal amount of streaming royalties to SoundExchange; despite promises to their station clientele that “all royalty payments” were being made.
The shear irony alone is headline worthy. This story IS major digital music news meat. How/Why did this unprecedented major label in-fight slip by DMN?
WTF Paul…dig into this one. You will thanks me later.
———————————————————————————————–
ARISTA MUSIC, ARISTA RECORDS, LLC,
LAFACE RECORDS LLC, SONY MUSIC
ENTERTAINMENT, SONY MUSIC
ENTERTAINMENT US LATIN LLC, AND
ZOMBA RECORDING LLC,
Plaintiffs
v.
RADIONOMY, INC., RADIONOMY SA,
RADIONOMY GROUP, B.V., and
ALEXANDRE SABOUNDJIAN, an individual,
Defendants.
Dr Luke is a douche-bag and is just getting what he deserves.
Not that accusing someone falsely of rape is any good karma (I think she is fabricating knowing mental abuse is not enough).
The most shocking thing is that multiple artist that DL wrote hit songs for and made a lot of money for are siding against him. This shows his character.
Look at old text exchanges between him and Katy Perry where he hacks into her account and says she has blisters on her vag, or something of that nature. What was that all about? That is not a normal thing to do for someone over 15. Interesting to see if Perry says anything about her experience with him. Either way, douche bag. Next. Max Martin can just create another.
Why would they fire a guy who hasn’t been convicted of any wrongdoing?
Actually, firing a person who hasn’t been convicted in a court of law could expose Sony to a lawsuit of its own, for terminating a contract without cause.