Entertainment

Unfortunately, Dr. Luke Might Still Make Money Off Kesha's New Album, 'Rainbow'

by Tina Kolokathis
Monica Schipper/Getty Images/Jason LaVeris/Getty Contributor

Kesha has dropped her first album in five years, Rainbow, and fans are thrilled to have her back in the spotlight. As many know, the star has been caught up in legal battles with her former producer, Dr. Luke, over claims he "sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally abused" her. Although Kesha cut ties with him years ago, the release of the new album has fans wondering if Dr. Luke will make money off Rainbow.

Elite Daily reached out to Kesha and Dr. Luke's teams for confirmation on if he is making money off the new album, but did not hear back by the time of publication.

To try and make a very long story short, Kesha first got involved with Dr. Luke in 2005, when she signed with his company, Kasz Money, Inc., at 18 years old. The deal included six albums. In 2011, Dr. Luke was also hired to run Kemosabe Records, an imprint of Sony Music.

During this time, Kesha and Dr. Luke worked together to create hit songs like "Tik Tok," "Blow," and "Timber."

In October of 2015, Kesha filed a civil lawsuit against Dr. Luke for allegedly abusing her back in 2005. Since then, she has been in court trying to get out of her deal with Sony, so she can record with other producers and drop albums without Dr. Luke attached. Sony has said they can't terminate Kesha's contract because they weren't involved when the initial deal was signed with Dr. Luke's KMI in 2005.

Jason LaVeris / Getty Contributor

However, since Dr. Luke's contract with Kemosabe expired in March, you would think he couldn't possibly still be making a profit off Kesha's new album. But... it looks like that might be wrong.

The New York Times reports that although Dr. Luke may not be directly related to Kesha's work anymore, Kesha's agreements are still dependent on the contracts she signed back in 2005. The New York Times says,

So even if Sony is distancing itself from the producer — he has worked on just one song, Big Boi's “All Night,” by a Sony artist this year — he may profit from her affiliation with Kemosabe via KMI, which ultimately owns her work.

So, there you have it. While we hope it's not true, we may never know if Dr. Luke is still raking in money off Kesha's wins.