Snoop Dogg Settles Copyright Infringement Case Over (Back on Death Row) Album

Snoop Dogg has officially reached a settlement in the copyright infringement lawsuit brought against him by drummer and producer Trevor Lawrence Jr. over two tracks from his 2022 album BODR (Back on Death Row). Lawrence filed the suit last summer, alleging that Snoop and Death Row Records used backing tracks for the songs “Pop Pop” and “Get This D*ck” without proper clearance. According to the complaint, Lawrence had created the instrumental tracks for Snoop to experiment with in the studio, under the condition that licensing would be required for any commercial release. Despite this, Lawrence claimed the tracks were used on the final album without a licensing agreement. The lawsuit also accused Snoop of profiting from the songs by minting them as NFTs, allegedly generating millions in revenue again, without Lawrence’s permission. Snoop Dogg and his legal team pushed back on the claims, maintaining that Lawrence had been paid a $20,000 producer fee and that a draft deal had been exchanged. In a December court filing, they argued that if Lawrence were owed anything, it would be limited to standard producer royalties, minus the fee he had already received. The filing also criticized Lawrence for allegedly seeking an excessive payout “in the millions. ”The case was initially set to head to trial this September. However, according to Billboard, both parties reached a private settlement through mediation in April. On June 24, Snoop and Lawrence jointly filed a motion to dismiss the case.

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