Salt-N-Pepa are deep in a legal battle with Universal Music Group as they attempt to reacquire their master recordings. The duo (Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton) brought the lawsuit against UMG in May. They claim that the label is refusing to honor their "termination rights." The "termination rights" are a provision in copyright law that allows artists who've signed over their masters to regain control of them 35 years after a song's release.
On Thursday, UMG motioned to dismiss the lawsuit. The company's lawyers argued that Salt-N-Pepa don’t have any termination rights because James and Denton were not the ones who signed away their masters. They specifically mention the albums Hot, Cool & Vicious, A Salt With A Deadly Pepa, Blacks’ Magic, A Blitz of Salt-N-Pepa Hits and Very Necessary. UMG also said that the duo's producer, Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor, actually signed their 1986 distribution deal with Next Plateau Records, one of the several labels now under the massive UMG umbrella.
“There was never an intention to effectuate a copyright transfer from plaintiffs. The only transfer is made by producer as the copyright owner to Next Plateau,” the motion reads. “Because that is not a grant subject to termination by plaintiffs, plaintiff’s declaratory judgment claim as to the validity of their termination of purported grants concerning the sound recordings should be dismissed.”
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Salt-N-Pepa UMG Lawsuit
The motion also notes that Salt-N-Pepa's lawyers worked on the landmark class action lawsuit on termination rights that artists brought against UMG in 2023. UMG contends that because of this, the duo should know that the provision only applies to artists who signed the contracts themselves. Since Salt-N-Pepa did not sign the contract themselves, UMG argued that the judge should throw out the entire suit.
Additionally, UMG's lawyers asserted that the company should not start its part of the discovery process until the judge issues a ruling. "The relevant events trace back many decades, including various contractual arrangements dating back almost forty years," they wrote.
A spokesperson for Salt-N-Pepa spoke to Billboard after UMG filed the motion. “UMG’s response is just what we expected — an effort to avoid addressing the core issues facing Salt-N-Pepa and so many other artists in these circumstances,” adds the spokesperson. “But we remain confident that the facts and the law are on our side.”
This is far from the only legal battle for UMG, as they continue to be on the receiving end of a defamation lawsuit from Drake over "Not Like Us." He recently submitted a list of 63 potential witnesses as his suit continues to move forward. Hopefully, the iconic hip-hop pioneers have their case against the music megacorporation resolved quickly and favorably.
