Nickelodeon Star Drake Bell -- Ordered to Pay Selena Gomez Producer $42,000

Nickelodeon star Drake Bell just took a beating in court -- because the actor/singer has been ordered to cough up $42,787 to Selena Gomez' music producer ... for crappy songs Bell allegedly never paid for.

TMZ broke the story ... producer John Fields -- who's produced songs for Selena, Jimmy Eat World, and the Jonas Brothers -- sued Bell for $36,000, claiming Bell commissioned 9 songs from Fields for his new album ... but only paid for 5.

Fields claimed Bell agreed to pay $9,000 per song -- and since Bell failed to pay for 4 of them ... he sued for the outstanding balance of $36k.

Now, Fields is getting all that and more -- because a judge has issued a default judgment against Drake for failing to respond to the lawsuit.

According to the court docs, Drake's been ordered to pay the full amount plus interest and attorneys' fees -- totaling $42,787.