Salt-N-Pepa Loses Lawsuit Against Universal To Reclaim Recordings

In May of last year, Salt-N-Pepa filed a copyright lawsuit against Universal Music Group to regain their masters. The iconic hip-hop group asserted that the 1976 Copyright Act gives artists the right to reclaim ownership of master recordings and terminate past agreements after 35 years. Subsequently, UMG removed their early music from streaming, which Salt-N-Pepa claimed was done to punish them. Today, Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton lost the suit.

In Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled that Salt-N-Pepa didn't prove they ever owned the copyrights at issue and were not entitled to terminate UMG's rights to them. Per Reuters, a UMG spokesperson said, "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."

Their debut album Hot, Cool & Vicious came out in 1986 through the independent label Next Plateau Records, which later became controlled by UMG. In 2022, Salt-N-Pepa allegedly filed to terminate their agreement with UMG and their lawsuit said that "inexplicably, Universal has refused to honor" their wishes. They sought rights to their early records, including their 1987 breakout hit "Push It," among other material. UMG argued that Salt-N-Pepa's initial contract was a work made for hire and that the two rappers were not personally party to the initial 1986 agreement.

Salt-N-Pepa's first three albums are still missing from streaming services.