NEW YORK — A federal judge has dismissed the pioneering hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit to reclaim ownership of their master recordings from Universal Music Group.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote on Thursday sided with the recording giant, arguing that the Grammy-winning group never owned the copyrights to their sound recordings and didn’t transfer them to anyone else.
“Plaintiffs can only terminate copyright transfers that they executed,” the judge wrote. “None of the contracts identified by Plaintiffs indicate that they ever owned the Master Tapes.”
UMG argued that the recordings were “works made for hire,” which would not allow for the reclaiming of rights. Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit said their agreements with the label made it clear that they were not.
“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,” UMG said in a statement.
Representatives for Salt-N-Pepa said in a statement that they disagreed with the judge’s decision and “fully intend to pursue our rights on appeal,” adding: “We remain committed to vindicating and reclaiming our rights as creators under the Copyright Act.”
The Queens, New York, duo of Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton became Salt-N-Pepa in 1985. They were later joined by DJ Spinderella, who was not part of the early agreements under dispute and is not involved in the lawsuit.
Salt-N-Pepa signed with Next Plateau Records and released their debut album “Hot, Cool & Vicious” in 1986. Next Plateau was an independent label at the time, and it’s now under the banner of Universal’s Republic label. Some of the group’s hits include 1993’s “Shoop” and 1987’s “Push It.”
In 1995 they became the first female rap group to win a Grammy, and in 2021, they received a Grammy lifetime achievement award. In November, they followed Missy Elliott as the second female hip-hop act in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, handed the Influence Award.
At the podium during the induction ceremony, James noted the group’s legal fight: “This is the Influence Award. We have to keep using our influence until the industry honors creativity the way the audience does — with love, respect and fairness.”
In their lawsuit, Salt-N-Pepa claimed that the 1976 Copyright Act gives artists the right to reclaim ownership of master recordings and terminate past agreements after 35 years.
But the judge sided with UMG’s argument that there is no evidence that James and Denton granted the label copyright that they can now reclaim.
