Dr. Dre settles lawsuit over ‘Chronic’ sales

LOS ANGELES— Dr. Dre won’t be behind the microphone at a federal courthouse after all the rapper settled a lawsuit over damages from unauthorized online sales of his album “The Chronic” a day before trial.

Attorneys for the rap superstar, whose real name is Andre Young, filed a notice of settlement in a Los Angeles federal court late Monday afternoon. He had been expected to testify during the weeklong trial, which would have decided whether Young was entitled to 100 percent of the profits from online sales of the rap album, which also helped launch the career of Snoop Dogg.

No details of the settlement, which is not yet finalized, were filed with the court.

In April a judge ruled that WIDEawake Death Row Records didn’t have the proper permission to sell Young’s music online or repackage it on new CD releases. The label purchased the holdings of original Death Row Records, which launched the careers of several rappers, out of bankruptcy.

He sued WIDEawake Death Row in 2010 for breach of contract, trademark infringement and misappropriation of his likeness.

Young was a co-founder of the label, but negotiated a deal to leave the company that required Death Row to obtain his permission before selling his music digitally. On Monday, “The Chronic” was no longer available for download on Apple’s popular music service iTunes.

There was no immediate comment from attorneys for either Young or WIDEawake Death Row.