LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Will Rap Label Be Let Go?

There’s a good chance Time Warner Inc. will sever ties with Westwood-based Interscope Records before Aug. 15, sources say. The media conglomerate--which has been under intense pressure from politicians to stop selling what they call “violent and sexually degrading” music--is likely to dump its 50% stake in the successful but controversial record label before Interscope releases a potentially offensive album by rap duo Tha Dogg Pound, the sources say. The record is due out on Interscope-distributed Death Row Records in three weeks. If Time Warner decides to let Interscope go, the label could form its own independent distribution company, or it could cut a deal with PolyGram or Sony Music, each of which is said to be eager to snatch up an interest in the firm to bolster its domestic market share.