According to Pitchfork.com, last year, Salt-N-Pepa’s Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton filed suit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over the rights to their catalog alleging that the label had pulled the duo’s songs from streaming platforms after they attempted to regain control of their masters. Lawyers for UMG subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and now, a judge in New York’s Southern District Court ruled in their favor.
Salt-N-Pepa’s former DJ, Spinderella, was not party to the complaint based their claim on the alleged “termination rights” outlined in Section 203 of the Copyright Act of 1976, which allow artists to reclaim the copyrights on their master recordings after several decades. However, in a copy of her decision obtained by Pitchfork, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote finds that Salt-N-Pepa allegedly never owned their masters to begin with and the group had originally granted ownership to their first label, Noise in the Attic (NITA) Productions and were not allegedly included in the contract that transferred those rights to UMG predecessor Next Plateau Records in 1986.
In a statement to Pitchfork, a UMG spokesperson wrote: “While we are gratified that the court dismissed this baseless lawsuit, it should never have been brought in the first place. Prior to this suit—and without any legal obligation to do so—we made multiple attempts to resolve the matter amicably, improve the artists’ compensation, and ensure that Salt-N-Pepa’s fans had access to their music. Even with the court’s complete rejection of their claims, we remain open and willing to find a resolution to the matter and turn the page so we can focus our efforts on working together to amplify Salt-N-Pepa’s legacy for generations to come.”
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