Creem Comeback Cloudy

Will one of the most iconic rock ’n’ roll publications of the ’70s, Creem, ever make a comeback?

The answer depends on whom you ask.

An entrepreneur with dreams of resurrecting the sardonic music mag recently revealed his plans to the New York Times. Jason Turner, chairman of Creem Media, maintains he’s secured millions in financing toward a multimedia music venture and alluded he intends to make a big announcement regarding the project in the near future.

But the paper also dug deep into a long-running legal battle over the ownership rights to the magazine and caught up with J.J. Kramer, whose father founded Creem in 1969.

Turner, his cousin Robert Matheu and another man bought the licensing rights to the company in 2001 and attempted for several years to get the publication up and running, the Times said. When the group ran short on cash, Matheu persuaded Kramer and Los Angeles disc jockey Chris Carter to invest in the project.

That’s where things took a turn.

According to court documents obtained by the paper, Kramer and Carter claimed Matheu had offered them each 33 percent stakes in Creem Media in return for their investment. Turner and the other partner objected, and the ownership group soon found itself on the receiving end of a lawsuit from Kramer.

Although a judge ruled in favor of Kramer in 2007, the decision didn’t exactly clear things up, as the judgment noted no action could be taken unless all members of the ownership group agreed to it.

Fast forward a few years and Matheu resigned from Creem’s board, in effect putting Turner in charge of the company and leaving talks over ownership at a standstill.

“I feel I am carrying a torch right now,” Turner said, adding that he’s devoted several years of his life to the project and financed it wholly for three years.

Kramer told the Times negotiations have dragged on for five years and that “no agreement has been reached.”

Carter echoed that sentiment.

“What really angers me is that Jason Turner goes around the country doing ‘Creem business’ when he clearly knows he didn’t pay a penny for the purchase of the magazine he claims to own,” he said.