Death Row Records, the iconic record label founded in 1991 by Suge Knight, The D.O.C., and Dr. Dre, has changed ownership. At its peak, the record label once signed iconic rappers like Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, but after its heyday the record label became embroiled in controversies, lawsuits, and the imprisonment of co-founder Suge Knight. Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was quickly picked up by an entertainment agency. But the record label’s ownership has changed hands: It is now owned by the Hasbro, the worldwide toy and board game company.
The deal followed Hasbro’s acquisition of Entertainment One, which it just attained in a deal for $4 billion, according to Deadline. Hasbro’s most popular games and toys are the well-known Monopoly, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and My Little Pony. They were interested in the deal in order to gain the rights to Entertainment One’s brands like Peppa Pig, but they also ended up with the Death Row catalog as part of the purchase.
Death Row has changed ownership several times since filing for bankruptcy in 2006. The first company to pick up the record label was WIDEawake Entertainment, who later sold the label to Entertainment One for 15 times the price. The Game, Joe Budden, and DJ Khaled have all released music with Entertainment One, but their masters now belong with the toy company Hasbro.
Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said he’s looking forward to furthering their family-oriented brand. “The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling, which will now include Hasbro’s IP,” he said. Clearly, Goldner wasn’t talking about Dr. Dre’s The Chronic.
