Dr. Luke’s Queasy Two-Front Comeback Effort
If you look through the production discography for Lukasz Gottwald, you’ll see a litany of huge hits for supremely famous artists, starting with Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” in 2004, and stretching through effervescent smashes by Pink, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and Kesha. But starting in 2015, the hot streak ends. His output dwindles, with his clients largely comprising past-their-peak stars—Jennifer Lopez, Iggy Azalea, Ne-Yo—or newcomers.
This arc owes something to the 2014 lawsuit the singer Kesha Rose Sebertfiled against the producer and record-label owner, who goes by Dr. Luke, . Sebert’s attempt to nullify her contract with Gottwaldmet , and Gottwaldhas repeatedly denied her allegations. But the publicity around the saga brought for the “Tik Tok” singer, with a #FreeKesha campaign cosigned by a number of pop stars, some of whom had bad experiences with the producer. In March 2017, he departed from the CEO spot of the label he founded.
