Death Row Records Senior VP John Payne Interviewed by Dawna Lee Heising of EOE on Time Warner Cable

Dawna Lee Heising interviewed legendary music producer and engineer John Payne for the December segment of Eye on Entertainment on Time Warner Cable. Originally from Detroit Michigan, and now residing in Los Angeles, Payne was the chief engineer of Solar Records, home of Lakeside, Shalamar, Midnight Starr, the Whispers, Babyface, and other studios up to and including the early days of Future Shock, which later became Death Row Records. Payne was the studio engineer in the early days of Death Row Records, the label that gave birth to West Coast Hip Hop's most well known rappers, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Lady of Rage and Jewell. John has mentored and consulted for companies such as Soulife Records, Infinite Records, Lockdown Records and Kokyprok Records.

In late 2008, Payne founded the Australian Urban Syndicate. The goal of the Syndicate is to bring awareness of Australian hip hop and urban artists to Australia and the world. Mentoring is his passion and he feels that "if you've been able to sustain a career that has lasted this long in this industry that it's definitely time to give back." Payne's longevity and consistency in the music industry has brought him full circle to his new position as the senior vice president of Death Row Records. John looks forward to working with the WIDEawake Death Row team to bring new life to Death Row Records, while at the same time staying true to even the most ardent Death Row fans. Says John, "It's important to look to the future without forgetting our past."

WIDEawake snapped up Death Row Records from bankruptcy for $18 million in January 2009. It now plans a "hugely profitable" business strategy for the company, built upon digital and mobile formats, synchronization licensing deals for television and film, and the issuing of previously unreleased material. Payne says the real opportunities in the 10,000-song catalog reside in unreleased tracks by the likes of Petey Pablo, Kurupt, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. He's now working with the artists concerned, ensuring that appropriate contracts are in place.

The new owners of Death Row Records are digging into their vaults for the release of a greatest hits collection set for late November. The release, titled 'Ultimate Death Row Collection', is a three-disc set of some of the labels best-known hits -- including songs from Tupac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, the Dogg Pound, and others. It features 60 tracks, and is packaged with a DVD of popular music videos, unreleased footage, and a limited addition Death Row t-shirt. The new release follows the releases of a revamped version of Dr. Dre's classic album, 'The Chronic', re-titled 'The Chronic Re-Lit'; and Snoop Dogg's 'Lost Sessions Vol.1'. The 'Ultimate Death Row Collection' hit stores on November 24, 2009.

The show was filmed at the Time Warner Cable studio in Costa Mesa, California. The Eye on Entertainment production team included Linda Maxwell of Time Warner Cable, John C. Alsedek, Paul Heising, Ann Stone, Steve Van Wormer, David James and Bryan Briam. All pictures were taken by Eye on Entertainment producer and cameraman David McNeil.

About WIDEawake entertainment group
WIDEawake was formed in January 2006 to pursue opportunities in film, music, production and technology. WIDEawake is an ownership model. All the entertainment developed is either owned in its entirety or in joint venture with strategic partners. WIDEawake develops film properties, artists, proprietary technology/business models, and multimedia projects. For more information, visit: http://www.wideawakehc.com/. John Payne is the senior vice president of Death Row Records.

For more information on Death Row Records, go to: http://www.deathrowmusic.com/.

About Eye on Entertainment
"Eye on Entertainment", a division of Eye on Excellence™ Productions, is aired twice weekly on Time Warner Cable in Southern California. The EOE team covers entertainment events, film festivals, red carpets and award shows, and features interviews with successful people in all walks of life, exploring the traits they have in common. Dawna Lee Heising is the executive producer and host of EOE. She is a long-standing member of SAG & AFTRA and is Ms. Universe 2009. The show is produced and directed by John Alsedek, who is also the writer, director & producer of the horror anthology series "AS DARKNESS FALLS", which runs on Time Warner Cable. The EOE co-producer is John Cox, an educator in the film department at Golden West College. The EOE photographer is David McNeil, who is a former executive with United Artists and was one of the developers of Pay-per-View.

For more information, please visit http://www.eyeonentertainment.tv/ and www.youtube.com/eyeonentertainment