Give It to Me: the Battle For Rick James' Royalties
by TFSnewsRoom/CelebrityJustice.WarnerBros.com
Give It to Me: the Battle For Rick James' Royalties
August 24, 2004
The late Rick James is now part of music history, with classics like "Super Freak." But is a super battle now brewing over the legend's estate? That's what two reliable sources tell "Celebrity Justice" -- one even went so far as to say a high-powered meeting of accountants and lawyers was just held to discuss who gets what from the hit-maker's estate.
At James' star-studded Los Angeles funeral, which included famous faces such as Chaka Kahn, Jamie Foxx and Motown founder Barry Gordy, the singer's family presented a united front. But our sources claim a behind-the-scenes tug of war is pitting James' daughter, Ty -- who was described as the mature, level-headed one who was close to her father -- and her youngest brother, Tazman, against some more distant relatives who are said to want a piece of what the Grammy winner left behind.
"CJ" spoke to Cary Gordy, the son of Barry and manager of Rick James. "Me and Rick were great friends," he told us. "He was a good family man, a loving father and just wanted to make sure not a lot of infighting was going on."
Prominent LA entertainment lawyer Gary Hecker, who represented Lorna Luft in issues over the estate of her mother, Judy Garland, told us, "It's real typical after the death of an artist for there to be a fight over his music publishing and his copyrights."
Hecker says the question is who gets what from an extremely valuable music catalogue, a complex web that can involve wills, publishing rights, music labels and of course the artist and any companies he created.
"Rick James owned a lot of intellectual property rights of his music library," Hecker said. "That would be great news for his estate because, for the works that he owns, they'll be able to enjoy revenues from that music."
So what's at stake? "His music is worth in the millions, if not tens of millions of dollars," Hecker told us.
James' attorney and accountant were not available for comment. Cary Gordy said he'd rather focus on how much the superstar would have loved his packed funeral.
