From BET:
In the second installment of BET.com’s exclusive interview with record executive Suge Knight, the former Death Row Records CEO clarifies comments he made about Kendrick Lamar and Game having two of the worst deals in the industry, during his recent appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show.
“[All I was saying was] it’s not fair for two n****s from Compton to be gettin’ f****d, and it’s not good for me to have knowledge and not pass it on to them,” said Suge. “It wasn’t about putting them as men down or as artists down, it was about putting the person who’s in control down, saying ‘How are you f****ng over these dudes from Compton when they’re making a difference for your company?'”
Suge also dropped knowledge on how record labels have changed their deal structure in recent years to include a significant portion of the money from artists’ live shows.
“Not only do these companies get the royalties and the publishing, if [the artist] do a show and $100,000 come in, the manager gets 20 percent, now it’s $80,000. Kendrick gets half, the record company gets half, which is ridiculous,” Suge pointed out.
“If you can’t live off your tour money how can you survive by being a slave [to the record contract],” Suge questioned. “Prince was able to survive being a slave because he was able to tour. If Prince had a deal like these new guys, where the record company gets half of your tour money, Prince would’ve been f****d.”
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