Yesterday a report surfaced, citing "knowledgeable individuals," that Sony was planning on dropping Dr. Luke ahead of the expiration of his contract in 2017 in light of the recent Kesha lawsuit. Since that report surfaced and spread across the internet like wild fire, Dr. Luke's reps have denied the claims, saying "this is not true."
In a statement to Billboard and many other outlets, Dr. Luke's legal rep refuted The Wrap story commenting "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."
Sony Music has declined to comment on the report.
While it would make sense from a PR stand point for Sony to potentially let Dr. Luke go, there are serious issues contractually that bind him, his Prescription Songs Publishing Company and Kemosabe Records to Sony. It would be quite difficult to just cut him loose without some sort of a court ruling in Kesha's favor.
That hasn't happened yet. On Feb. 19, a New York Supreme Court judge determined they could not break the contract between Kesha, Dr. Luke and Sony prematurely.
"You're asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry," Justice Shirley Kornreich said in court. "My instinct is to do the commercially reasonable thing."
Kesha has accused Dr. Luke of drugging her and sexually assaulting her. She was signed to Dr. Luke's label and publishing company in 2005 at the tender age of 18 and has created some hit records with him along the way like "Tik Tok" "Take It Off" and "Your Love Is My Drug."
Over the past few months, there have been #freekesha demonstrations outside of the Sony Music offices in New York City and court buildings during legal proceedings. The hashtag has trended during key moments in the trial and breaking news. She has received support from other prominent female pop artists like Adele, Taylor Swift, Lorde and Lady Gaga.
