UPDATE (8/27/13): The Hollywood Reporter is now reporting that Dr. Luke will not be joining the American Idol judges table as previously expected.
Since 2011, the singer-songwriter has been under a lucrative contract with Sony Music to develop talent. The problem is Universal Music Group, one of Sony’s biggest competitors, holds exclusive rights to American Idol recordings. Therefore, it wouldn’t be in Sony’s best interest to let their star producer develop talent for their #1 competitor.
Luke now realizes that in addition to the conflict of interest, he just doesn’t have enough time to appear on the show.
“He really loves his artists and wants to build up the label,” a THR source close to Dr. Luke reported. “Luke wants to build an entertainment company … after a lot of conversations, both Luke and Sony Music CEO Doug Morris came to the mutual agreement that taking Dr. Luke out of the Idol running was the best thing for all parties.'”
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According to reports that surfaced over the weekend, music producer and songwriter Dr. Luke has signed on to be a judge on the upcoming 13th season of American Idol.
The Idol judging panel is now rumored to be complete, with Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban serving as the other two judges. However, Keith Urban is the only judge to be officially announced by Fox so far, while Jennifer Lopez’s return has only been confirmed by her boyfriend, Casper Smart.
Sources say Dr. Luke was in talks with Fox after Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am turned down the gig to appear on season 3 of The Voice U.K. instead.
Dr. Luke may not be a household name, but he is responsible for producing many hit songs, including “California Gurls” by Katy Perry and “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson. Over 20 of his songs have debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2011 he was nominated for a Grammy Award for producer of the year and won the ASCAP Pop Music Awards’ songwriter of the year in 2010, as well as in 2011 with Max Martin.
The thirteenth season of American Idol returns to FOX in January.
